LIMR outlicenses to MYNARI Biomedical a blood test to predict acute nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy
The Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) signed a licensing agreement in January with MYNARI Biomedical, a biotech startup that will commercialize MyNauseaRisk, a LIMR-developed blood test that reliably and objectively predicts which cancer patients are most likely to experience acute nausea after chemotherapy.
Nausea and vomiting in the days after chemotherapy is a much-feared side effect of treatment, yet not all patients experience such effects equally. For some, nausea is almost non-existent, while for others it is debilitating. Being able to predict which patients are more likely to suffer from delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea — especially delayed nausea after the patient has received chemotherapy and left the clinic — has been a challenge for healthcare providers interested in sparing their cancer patients undue distress and discomfort.
“The MyNauseaRisk blood test helps alert physicians to those particular oncology patients for whom we must prescribe more potent anti-nausea drugs,” said Paul Gilman, MD, director of clinical research at LIMR. “When used in clinical practice, patients are tested prior to starting therapy, thus allowing caregivers the chance to devise an optimal and personalized nausea-prevention regimen.”
Antiemetic drugs, which are given to chemotherapy patients, have their own side effects, including insomnia, constipation and headaches. “Patients whom we have determined from the blood test are at a lower risk of delayed nausea may be treated with a modified regimen, sparing them the ill effects of the anti-nausea medications,” said U. Margaretha Wallon, PhD, assistant professor at LIMR and the lead author of the study whose results led to the test’s development. The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust in West Conshohocken, Pa., funded Dr. Wallon’s clinical research to develop this test.
Results of the clinical trials performed at Main Line Health demonstrated that MyNauseaRisk could correctly classify nearly 90 percent of patients experiencing high nausea sensitivity.
MYNARI Biomedical, based in Fort Washington, Pa., has licensed the test from LIMR. Steve Davis, CEO of MYNARI, has a 25-year background in early-stage companies focused on novel medical innovations, including surgical devices, diagnostic tests and therapeutics. He has significant and diversified experience in all facets of their development.
“Our primary goal is to get the MyNauseaRisk diagnostic test on the market as soon as possible,” said Davis. “In the short term, we hope to work with pharmaceutical companies developing better antiemetic drugs to help them identify patients at risk of nausea from chemotherapy and further validate the test’s efficacy.”
The licensing deal was shepherded to a close by the Office of Innovation at Thomas Jefferson University (Jefferson), a Philadelphia-based professional university with a national reputation for transdisciplinary learning and innovation and which has partnered with LIMR to help manage the commercialization of its growing patent portfolio.
“Dr. Wallon’s MyNauseaRisk technology stood out to me as offering a significant advancement in patient care, so it came as no surprise to me when Steve Davis approached us with interest in partnering with LIMR on its translational development,” said Rose Ritts, PhD, chief innovation officer and executive vice president of innovation at Jefferson. “We are thrilled to have helped connect the players who will advance it to the next important stage of development.”
LIMR administers all of the clinical trials ongoing at Main Line Health. Currently, about 30 cancer clinical trials are recruiting participants. Most of those trials are studying the safety and efficacy of new treatment options. A few, such as MyNauseaRisk, are going beyond those traditional types of trials and are studying strategies that may help patients better manage the side effects of their cancer treatments.
“Most large health systems in our region offer patients access to clinical trials, but our lineup at Main Line Health also includes unique studies whose results may help future patients live more satisfying lives while they battle their cancers,” said George Prendergast, president and CEO of LIMR. “That’s a key differentiating factor and one that we’re confident cancer patients want more of. They don’t want to just survive their cancers — they want to continue to thrive in life.”
About Main Line Health
Main Line Health® is a not-for-profit health system serving the greater Philadelphia region. The System comprises five hospitals, seven health centers, more than 160 outpatient and physician practice locations, over 14,500 employees and more than 2,200 employed and independent physicians and advanced practice providers.
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health includes four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital — as well as Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, one of the nation’s premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine. The System also includes Mirmont Treatment Center, which provides treatment and support for substance use disorders; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice; Main Line HealthCare, its employed multispecialty physician network; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a leading biomedical research organization; and Main Line Health Centers offering primary and specialty care, lab, radiology and other outpatient services in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Devon, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square.
Main Line Health brings together physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, researchers and other healthcare professionals across a broad network of inpatient, outpatient, home-based and community-based services. Through this integrated approach, the System delivers high-quality, comprehensive care across the continuum — from primary care and preventive services to complex specialty, surgical, trauma, emergency, rehabilitative, behavioral health, home care and hospice services — with a focus on making care accessible in the communities where people live and work.
Main Line Health also collaborates with leading clinical partners to expand access to specialized care. Through its affiliation with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, pediatric care is provided at select Main Line Health locations, including neonatal intensive care units at its acute care hospitals and Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Inpatient Pediatric Unit and Emergency Department. Jefferson Health neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists also provide 24/7 specialized care, including neurointervention and lifesaving stroke care.
About Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), part of Main Line Health, is a nonprofit biomedical research institute on the campus of Lankenau Medical Center celebrating its landmark 100th anniversary of scientific accomplishment in Fall 1927. LIMR's mission is to improve human health and well-being. Through its ACAPRENEURIAL™ organizational model, which integrates academic and entrepreneurial approaches, LIMR faculty and staff advance innovative strategies to address formidable medical challenges including cancer, cardiovascular disease, tissue regeneration, gastrointestinal disorders and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. LIMR's principal investigators conduct basic, preclinical and clinical research, using their findings to improve disease detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. They are committed to extending the boundaries of human health through technology transfer and training the next generation of scientists and physicians.