Ignite Proteomics Partners with Vanderbilt to Advance Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Biomarker Discovery
Key Insights
Ignite Proteomics (search) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have launched a one-year research collaboration to characterize protein-signaling pathways that help breast tumor cells evade immune system detection.
The partnership will utilize Ignite's reverse-phase protein array platform to analyze up to 80 tumor specimens, profiling priority targets including MHC-I (search)/II, PD-L1 (search), AKT (search)/mTOR (search), and EGFR (search)/HER2 (search) signaling pathways.
The collaboration aims to identify actionable biomarkers that could refine immunotherapy strategies, addressing the current limitation where objective response rates to immune checkpoint blockade remain below 40 percent.
Ignite Proteomics (search) LLC, a subsidiary of IMAC Holdings, Inc., has announced a strategic one-year research collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to advance biomarker discovery in breast cancer (search) immunotherapy. The partnership aims to characterize protein-signaling pathways that enable breast tumor cells to evade immune system detection, potentially leading to more precise patient selection for immunotherapy treatments.
Collaboration Framework and Methodology
Under the agreement, VUMC will provide de-identified formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue from patients undergoing standard of care chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Ignite will perform laser-capture micro-dissection and high-throughput reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) analysis of priority immune and signaling biomarkers, including validation of those previously shown to be beneficial in identifying patients who need immunotherapy to achieve a cure.
The collaboration will profile up to 80 FFPE tumor specimens, covering priority targets such as MHC-I (search)/II, PD-L1 (search), AKT (search)/mTOR (search), EGFR (search)/HER2 (search), and additional phospho-signaling nodes. Each party will fund its own work, with Ignite's contribution being in-kind assay support. Initial data packages are expected within two months of sample receipt.
Addressing Current Immunotherapy Limitations
The research addresses a critical gap in current immunotherapy approaches. While immune-checkpoint blockade, led by pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and other PD-1 (search)/PD-L1 (search) or CTLA-4 (search) antibodies, has transformed modern oncology and achieved durable responses across more than two dozen tumor types, objective response rates still hover below 40 percent and resistance frequently emerges.
"Partnering with VUMC's world-class immuno-oncology team allows us to deploy our RPPA platform on rigorously annotated clinical samples," said Faith Zaslavsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ignite Proteomics (search). "By quantifying many immune-checkpoint and signaling proteins simultaneously, we aim to illuminate mechanisms of response and resistance that genomic and single protein tests alone cannot capture."
Clinical Significance and Research Potential
Dr. Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator at VUMC, emphasized the unique research opportunity: "This collaborative study gives us a unique window into tumor–immune interactions in breast cancer (search). Ignite's pathway-level protein read-outs should accelerate our search for actionable biomarkers that can refine immunotherapy strategies and combination regimens."
The collaboration underscores the limitations of single-analyte tests such as PD-L1 (search) immunohistochemistry (IHC) and highlights the need for multi-dimensional biomarker platforms that integrate pathway-level protein, genomic, and microenvironment data to better match immunotherapies to patients most likely to benefit.
Technology Platform and Capabilities
Ignite Proteomics (search) operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory and delivers pathway-level protein analytics to guide precision oncology. The company's clinical RPPA assay quantifies 32 phospho- and total-protein biomarkers from minute biopsy material, with many more in research stages, enabling oncologists and drug developers to match patients with the most effective targeted and immune therapies.
Intellectual Property and Future Development
As part of the collaboration terms, Ignite receives a first right to negotiate an exclusive license to any jointly developed intellectual property, positioning the company to potentially commercialize discoveries emerging from the research partnership.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is recognized as a global leader in academic medicine, research, and patient care, hosting more than two million patient visits annually and maintaining one of the nation's largest programs in cancer research and treatment.