Persephone Biosciences Announces Collaboration with Janssen for Colorectal Arm of ARGONAUT Study

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Persephone Biosciences Inc. ("Persephone"), a privately held company investigating the human microbial ecosystem's effect on therapeutic treatment, diagnostics and disease prevention, today announced a collaboration with Janssen Research & Development, LLC, (Janssen) for the colorectal cancer (CRC) arm of Persephone's ARGONAUT study.  

ARGONAUT is a longitudinal, prospective, observational study that will collect and analyze stool and blood samples from 4,000 advanced-stage cancer patients and healthy individuals with varying cancer risk, of diverse racial backgrounds. The data collected can be used to develop precision microbiome medicines and for the identification of clinically actionable cancer-specific biomarkers to guide therapeutic decisions.

ARGONAUT will profile four types of solid tumor cancers: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic cancer. Through the agreement announced today, Persephone will work with Janssen on the CRC patient arm and additional healthy individuals with varying cancer risk enrolled in the study. Financial terms related to the agreement are not being disclosed. Persephone intends to sign additional agreements covering the study's other arms.

The results of the ARGONAUT study could provide a better understanding of the gut microbiome's role in patient response to cancer therapies, which could in time lead to the development of adjuvant therapeutics or a precision medicine approach to future oncology interventions, based on prior microbiome diagnostic testing. In addition, the potential discovery of biomarkers in the microbiome could enable earlier cancer detection and intervention. Importantly, the ARGONAUT study will enroll a diverse patient population, emphasizing patients from minority groups.

"We are delighted to be working with Janssen in ARGONAUT's colorectal cancer arm in this important new area of therapeutic research," said Stephanie Culler, CEO and Co-founder of Persephone Biosciences. "Importantly, patient diversity is a key driver of enrollment for the study, and we look forward to curating a study that will encompass a large cross section of American society, with implications for future oncology interventions worldwide."

About ARGONAUT

The official title of the ARGONAUT study is: "Argonaut: Development and Analysis of a Blood, Tissue and Stool Sample Bank for Cancer Patients, Enabling the Systematic Study of Host-Gut Microbiome Interactions on the Response to Colorectal Cancer Treatment, and Analysis of Biomarkers of Cancer Risk." More information can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier NCT04638751.

About Persephone Biosciences

Persephone Biosciences is committed to harnessing the role of the human microbial ecosystem to create better and more equitable therapeutics and diagnostics, and to aid disease prevention.

Persephone's technology platform is based on diverse and inclusive, population-scale, observational clinical trials in conjunction with advanced multi-omics analyses and machine learning with the aim to probe the complex interaction between microbes and the immune system.

Persephone develops precision immunotherapies utilizing synthetic biology for unmet needs and more equitable treatment outcomes.

For more information, visit www.persephonebiosciences.com

CONTACTS:
Dr. Stephanie Culler
CEO and Co-founder
Persephone Biosciences, Inc.
[email protected]

Or

Laurence Watts
Managing Director
Gilmartin Group, LLC.
[email protected]

Media Contacts:
Olipriya Das, Ph.D.
Russo Partners, LLC
[email protected]
646-942-5588

SOURCE Persephone Biosciences

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