Novigenix-Led Consortium Secures Eurostars Funding to Develop Multi-Omics Test for Colon Cancer Detection and Monitoring

Novigenix SA, a leading Immuno-Transcriptomics company that develops and commercializes solutions for early cancer detection and precision medicine, today announced that a consortium, including Maastricht University (The Netherlands), Biolizard and the KU Leuven (Belgium), in addition to Novigenix, has been awarded a grant up to ?1 million to develop a blood based multi-omics colorectal cancer (CRC) test.

The aim of the consortium is to develop a blood based test based on transcriptomic and epigenetic biomarkers for early detection and relapse monitoring in CRC patients. The biomarker development strategy will leverage transcriptome profiling of whole blood and candidate tumor DNA methylation markers in cell free-DNA. Moreover, the consortium will develop an automated and structured data analysis process, including the most advanced machine learning methods, and validate multi-omics signatures.

The members of consortium balanced between industrial and academic partners. Novigenix's will leverage its core competencies of the Immuno-Transcriptomics technology and Biolizard will focus on biological data integration, bioinformatics analysis, pipeline implementation and will provide artificial intelligence solutions. The group of Prof. dr. Manon van Engeland at Maastricht University brings unique expertise on CRC DNA methylation, whereas the Molecular Digestive Oncology group of Prof. dr. Sabine Tejpar at KU Leuven adds a clinical network for prospective collection of biological specimens and data interpretation.

"This Eurostars project combines excellent, world-leading science and technologies in a consortium dedicated to making significant advances in how colorectal cancer is detected and its treatment monitored," said Dr. Jan Groen, CEO of Novigenix. "We believe the outcome of this project, a potential omics-based test, will be important for the diagnosis and disease management of CRC patients."

About Eurostars

Eurostars supports international innovative projects led by research and development- performing small- and medium-sized enterprises (R&D-performing SMEs). With its bottom-up approach, Eurostars supports the development of rapidly marketable innovative products, processes and services that help improve the daily lives of people around the world. Eurostars is a joint program between EUREKA and the European Commission, co-funded from the national budgets of 36 Eurostars Participating States and Partner Countries and by the European Union through Horizon 2020. For more information visit https://www.eurostars-eureka.eu/

About Novigenix

Novigenix is committed to providing a new understanding of the human host response against cancer. The Company was founded on the vision that Immuno-Transcriptomics will bring unprecedented advances in diagnosing and treating cancer patients, leading to significant improvement in healthcare. Novigenix's unique Immuno-Transcriptomics technology enables an accelerated identification of disease specific mRNA signatures of circulating immune cells, which combined with machine learning and predictive algorithms, can potentially predict onset and progression of disease. The Company has established a valuable multi-ethnical biobank and database of over 1,400 patients at risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and has launched its first blood-based molecular diagnostic product, Colox^®, for the early detection of colon cancer. For more information visit www.novigenix.com.