Immudex Takes On International Proficiency Panels

Immudex Takes On International Proficiency Panels
Immudex becomes the provider of MHC multimer and Elispot proficiency panel services

Copenhagen, Denmark, Mainz, Germany, and New York, USA – April 23, 2013 – Immudex has entered into a strategic agreement with the US Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CIC) of the Cancer Research Institute, and the European Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT), under which Immudex will provide MHC-peptide multimer and Elispot proficiency panel services worldwide.

CIC and CIMT originally established proficiency panel programs to offer an external validation of assay performance and to enhance assay harmonization. Over the years, more than one hundred laboratories have participated not only from the cancer field, but also from other immunological fields utilizing immunomonitoring. As a result, two frequently used immune monitoring methods, the MHC-peptide multimer and Elispot assays, have now reached a high degree of harmonization. Immudex, specialized in the detection of antigen-specific T cells, has been an active participant in the proficiency panel process and is globally recognized for its expertise in immune monitoring. Thus Immudex was the logical choice as partner for proficiency panels.

Starting in fall of 2013, Immudex will be providing proficiency panels for MHC multimer and Elispot assays to laboratories worldwide, independently of their background and association. Immudex will continue the external validation program established by CIC and CIMT under the successfully implemented harmonization guidelines and will promote a more widespread use of these technologies in the development of new cancer immunotherapies and vaccines against other diseases such as HIV, TB, diabetes and others.

Sylvia Janetzki, coordinator of the CIC panel program, explains the rationale for handing the proficiency panels over to Immudex: "Immudex has been an activate partner and valued collaborator in our panel activities. Their continuation of the panel program will allow CIC and CIMT to start projects that aim at improving the performance of new assays and to investigate efficient approaches to maintain the integrity of samples obtained from donors participating in clinical trials." Cedrik Britten of CIMT adds: "The CIMT Immunoguiding Program (CIP) members are excited to see that external validation for two commonly used T cell assays may now become a regular service available to a large number of laboratories working in different fields of immunology. Our expectation is that the T cell community will benefit from a regular feedback about their immune assay performance relative to their peers, together making immunological monitoring a sharper tool to guide the clinical development of innovative immunotherapies."

Henrik Pedersen, CEO of Immudex, comments "We are very honored that Immudex is taking over the responsibility of the MHC multimer and Elispot proficiency panels. The years-long efforts of CIMT and CIC have improved Elispot and multimer assays to a new level of accuracy, robustness and reliability. Once considered research tools, these assays are now ready for comprehensive, routine use in the development of new immune-based treatments and vaccines."

About Immudex
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with North American operations based in Fairfax, Virginia, Immudex provides MHC Dextramers for the monitoring of antigen-specific T cells, and now also provides MHC multimer and Elispot immune monitoring proficiency panel services. Immudex recognizes the need for accuracy and reproducibility in scientific and clinical research, and patient care, and has a number of research and clinical products on the market. The goal is to enable simple, accurate and reliable monitoring of antigen-specific cellular immunity, and to promote the routine use of these technologies in diagnostics and research, and in all steps of vaccine development.
For further information please see www.immudex.com

About the Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CIC)
The Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CIC), a program of the nonprofit Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org), is an international association of 114 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic institutions that share a common interest in immunotherapy research and development.

CIC's mission is to improve patient care by making cancer immunotherapies part of the standard-of-care in oncology. CIC provides a platform that allows its stakeholders to advance the field by working together to achieve solutions to scientific and developmental challenges creating a single and powerful voice within the biomedical research community. From these collaborative, community-wide efforts, CIC together with its partners has developed and published a number of landmark recommendations for practical solutions to key challenges in the field known as the Immuno-Oncology Framework, including the development of new immune related response criteria, clinical trial endpoints for evaluation of cancer immunotherapy impact on patient health, and criteria for harmonization of immune monitoring assays. Visit www.cancerresearch.org/cic for more information.

About the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT)
The Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) is an international networking and education platform aiming to facilitate the development of new immunotherapies against cancer for the benefit of patients. CIMT was founded in 2002, and has its home office in Mainz, Germany. The association hosts the largest European expert meetings on cancer immunotherapy, publishes therapeutic guidelines and has established two topic-specific working groups: the CIMT Regulatory Research Party, focusing on the regulatory aspects of drug development, which is pioneering the regulatory framework of actively personalized vaccines for single patient use only; and the CIMT Immunoguiding Program (CIP), which focuses on the quality control and harmonization of immunomonitoring assays. To reach its goals, CIMT closely cooperates with various partners, including the Cancer Research Institute's Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CRI-CIC). Visit www.cimt.eu for more information.

Press Contact:
Sylvia Janetzki, Coordinator of the Assay Working Group, CIC, +1 (201) 347-0710
Cedrik Britten, Executive Director Translational Medicine, Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, CIMT, +49(0)6131 16096396738
Henrik Pedersen, CEO, Immudex, +45 3917 9777
Stephen Haley, VP Director US Operations, Immudex, +1 (703) 766 4688
Brian Brewer, Director of Marketing & Communications, Cancer Research Institute, +1 (212) 688-7515 x242