CelLBxHealth (AIM:CLBX) has agreed a research collaboration with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust to prospectively analyse CTC‑DNA in 200 patients with advanced non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose routine circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) testing is uninformative.
The single timepoint study, embedded in an existing ctDNA programme, targets the 10–15% of patients for whom plasma testing fails to identify actionable genomic mutations. CelLBxHealth (AIM:CLBX) and The Royal Marsden will test whether CTC‑derived DNA uncovers mutations that could guide targeted therapy. Secondary objectives include concordance with tumour tissue profiling and whether the combined approach raises overall detection of clinically relevant alterations.
The project will be jointly led by Dr Lavanya Sivapalan, Head of R&D at CelLBxHealth, and Professor Michael Hubank, Scientific Director of the Clinical Genomics Service at The Royal Marsden. All anonymised data will be shared between the parties for joint analysis and translational insights, and results are anticipated by year end.
“This collaboration with The Royal Marsden represents a great opportunity to deliver precision oncology for a significant number of NSCLC patients for whom standard of care tissue biopsy and ctDNA analysis is unable to identify genetic alterations that confer eligibility for a wide range of effective targeted therapies. By integrating a reflex to CTC‑DNA analysis, we aim to identify those clinically actionable alterations and expand treatment options for this patient group. We are delighted to partner with a globally recognised institution to evaluate the potential of this combined approach in a real‑world clinical setting,” said Peter Collins, Chief Executive Officer.
