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Spanish center Santiago de Compostela joins the largest ever prospective study into familial risk of developing pancreatic cancer

February 16, 2018

International validation through collaboration with leading cancer centers in Europe and US is a key part of Immunovia’s development and commercialization strategy for its portfolio of IMMrayTM tests. Therefore, the company has initiated PanFAM-1, the largest ever prospective multicenter study for early detection of pancreatic cancer using IMMrayTM PanCan-d, the first blood-based test for early detection of pancreatic cancer. Today Immunovia is pleased to announce that Spanish pancreatic cancer Santiago de Compostela has joined in this endeavor.

Immunovia LUND, Sweden, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain ― Immunovia AB today announced that University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela is to become the latest internationally renowned participant in PanFAM-1, a multicenter prospective validation study for the early diagnosis of familiar pancreatic cancer (FPC) high risk individuals using Immunovia’s innovative blood test, IMMrayTM PanCan-d.  Recent advances in genetics indicate that not only individuals with first-degree relatives with pancreatic cancer are at risk, but also those carrying germline mutations in known genes carrying linked to pancreatic cancer risk. Including more than 1000 patients, PanFAM-1 is predicted to run for three years from the start of the study.

The team at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela is led by Professor J Enrique Domínguez-Muñoz, a world leading authority on the pancreatic function, pancreatic diseases, and pancreatic endoscopy, who comments: “I welcome the opportunity to participate in PanFAM-1. With our increasing knowledge of the genetics of this devastating disease, there is a pressing need for a prospective study of this kind to enable cancer centers to devise effective screening programs“.

“As Professor Domínguez-Muñoz comments, our knowledge of the genetics of pancreatic cancer continues to grow. We believe this increases the urgent need for accurate early detection, a role IMMray™ PanCan-d is aiming to fill. PanFAM-1 is therefore designed to verify this and we are delighted that Santiago de Compostela has become the latest leading pancreatic diseases center to become our participating partner,” declared Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.

Following other PanFAM-1 partners, Santiago de Compostela fulfils three essential criteria: broad patient reach, ongoing surveillance program for familial pancreatic cancer risk group and world renowned clinical expertise in pancreatic cancer.  PanFAM-1 now includes Mount Sinai New York, Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland and Massachusetts General in the USA, University of Liverpool, UK, Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.

For more information, please contact: 

Mats Grahn  

Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Immunovia 

Tel.: +46-70-5320230 

Email: mats.grahn@immunovia.com 

About Immunovia
Immunovia AB was founded in 2007 by investigators from the Department of Immunotechnology at Lund University and CREATE Health, the Center for Translational Cancer Research in Lund, Sweden. Immunovia’s strategy is to decipher the wealth of information in blood and translate it into clinically useful tools to diagnose complex diseases such as cancer, earlier and more accurately than previously possible. Immunovia´s core technology platform, IMMray™, is based on antibody biomarker microarray analysis. The company is now performing clinical validation studies for the commercialization of IMMray™ PanCan-d that could be the first blood based test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In the beginning of 2016, the company started a program focused on autoimmune diseases diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring. The first test from this program, IMMray™ SLE-d, is a biomarker signature derived for differential diagnosis of lupus, now undergoing evaluation and validation. (Source: www.immunovia.com)

Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm and Wildeco is the company’s Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com.

About Pancreatic Cancer  

Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadly and difficult to detect cancers, as the signs and symptoms are diffuse and similar to other diseases. There are more than 40,000 deaths and over 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone, and the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is currently 5-7 %. It is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2020. However, because resection is more successful in stage I/II, early diagnosis can significantly improve pancreatic cancer patients’ 5-year survival rates from 5-7 % to potentially 50-60%.

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