CancerProbe Pty Ltd Information

CancerProbe Pty Ltd is an Australian Biotechnology company that has developed a unique, platform technology for identifying immune biomarkers and tumor antigens in various types of solid cancers. Based on its proprietary technology, the company is currently developing predictive biomarkers for immunotherapy and blood tests for the early diagnosis of breast and ovarian cancers. BACKGROUND An effective immune response is an essential part of the body's anti-tumour defence. Cancer cells are different to normal, healthy cells, and the body produces "antibodies" that recognize these cancer-specific molecular differences (tumor antigens) in a very specific manner. Such antibodies can be produced very early during cancer progression - often before cancer growth is visible - making them the most sensitive and specific tool for identifying early stages of tumor development. Previous techniques, using antibodies present in the blood to identify tumor antigens, were hindered by the massive dilution of tumor-specific antibodies with non-relevant antibodies in the circulation. CANCERPROBE TECHNOLOGY CancerProbe’s novel technology uses the lymph nodes, which drain a cancer, for harvesting the anti-cancer antibodies directly from their point of origin. In the activated lymph nodes, antibody secreting cells (ASCs) are generated that produce antibodies specific to the tumor antigens. CancerProbe’s technology harvests these cancer-specific antibodies (ASC-probes) and uses them to to reveal immune fingerprints that are characteristic of a particular type and stage of cancer. The ASC-probes can also be used to identify and isolate individual tumor antigens for the development of diagnostic assays, stage-specific biomarkers and vaccines.