Syantra, Inc., a biotechnology company revolutionising cancer detection, has announced a new therapeutic division that will focus on developing first-in-class therapies to help reverse cancer-related immune cell corruption and restore anti-cancer immunity.

Complementing the company's patent-pending Onco-ID platform, which leverages signals sent by the body's immune system to detect the presence of an active cancer signature, Syantra will provide a unique focus on tumour-immune reprogramming.

Syantra CEO, Rob Lozuk, said, “We've always recognised that the same biological mechanisms we use to detect early stage cancers could be adapted to identify new drug targets and create new paths to treatment. We've now advanced this work to the point of some specific targets and approaches, which is extremely exciting.”

The technology may also be applied to patient selection and treatment monitoring, which may improve therapeutic outcomes. “Simply put, through the Syantra platform, we can detect, record, decode, and report on shifts in an individual's physiological systems, and connect them to specific diseases.  This can support early detection all the way through treatment in the clinical journey,” said Lozuk.

Syantra Principal Scientist, Olesya Kharenko said, “Our research has shown that tumours, in a sense, 'educate' the body's immune cells and thereby reduce or even eliminate those cells' ability to combat disease. Through the biological basis of Onco-ID, we are able to replicate a person's biology in proprietary laboratory models and discover new targets that can reduce or perhaps even reverse tumour growth.”

In addition to the formation of this new division, Syantra is continuing clinical testing of its multi-target whole blood mRNA test with an updated version queued for release this fall, and has recently secured additional funding to support its clinical and commercial efforts.

“This ongoing wave of innovation in markets primed for disruption has caught the eye of both the medical and investing communities,” said Lozuk. “We have already completed several rounds of patent filings with additional applications forthcoming, accompanied by a new round of funding.”