Joel Kaye, PhD, from Ayala Pharmaceuticals answers key questions from his Virtual Summit Presentation - Targeting Notch Altered Patient Derived Xenografts (PDX) with AL101. 

1. How does the effect of AL101 in the ACC PDX models compare to other Gamma Secretase Inhibitors?
   Some other GSIs have been tested in the ACCx9 model, and based on publications it seems AL101 is the most potent. However, we have not tested head-to-head in this model.
2. You showed there were 14 TNBC models that are Notch activated, but only data in 9 of them. What about the rest?
   That work is ongoing and we will update at the next scientific meeting.
3. Are there any updates on the clinical studies?
   The latest data from ACCURACY was published at ESMO2020, and the TENACITY study in TNBC was just recently initiated.
4. Is there a good combination strategy planning for AL101 in TNBC? 
   We will use the RNA-Seq data from the PDX models to guide rationale design of combinations, and that too is ongoing work.

Advances in oncology research have led to the development of personalized treatments based on specific knowledge of a patient’s tumor. New therapies have been customized to target signaling pathways that are hyperactivated or block specific variants of cell surface molecules, thus leading to better anti-tumor responses. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has been at the forefront of these breakthroughs by enabling researchers to rapidly sequence RNA transcripts (RNA-seq) or exons (whole exome sequencing; WES) within tumor tissue and translate these findings into novel therapies.

Ask the Expert: Mike Ritchie, PhD, MBA, answers key questions about our new bioinformatics platform, LUMIN, and using this incredible tool to build oncology biomarker programs, from his recent webinar.

Ask the Expert: Dr. Chris Koehler, from our partner, PhenoVista Biosciences answers key questions from around ex vivo imaging and his recent webinar.

Ask the Expert: Dr. Pravesh Gupta answers key questions from his ongoing myeloid cell research and recent webinar.

Ask the Expert: Mike Ritchie, PhD, MBA, answers key questions about our new bioinformatics platform, LUMIN, from his recent webinar. 

Chelsea Riveley, MBA, answers key questions about Flow Cytometry in a non-regulatory and regulatory environment from her recent webinar.

How important is the validation step in the clinical setting? Are there different validations parameters depending on the complexity of the assay and/or on the clinical trial phase?

Amy Wesa, PhD, answers key questions about immuno-oncology and the current ex vivo platforms that are available at Champions Oncology, and were discussed in detail in her recent webinar.

1. Does Champions have the ability to test immuno-oncology agents in these platforms?Champions has extensive experience in humanized mouse models in solid tumor PDX and has a group of scientists with deep immuno-oncology know-how. We are actively developing platforms for evaluating IO agents in the context hematologic malignancy models and welcome the opportunity to develop custom assays as well.

Ask an Expert: Dr. Tamara Laskowski, Senior Research Scientist from MD Anderson Cancer Center, answers key questions from her recent webinar.

1. How long does it take to understand an assay from design to good reproductible data?
   It will depend on a few factors such as 1) The level of training of the person who is developing the assay, 2) The complexity of the assay they are developing, and 3) The support they have (e.g. mentors, peers who have advanced knowledge, ease of access to cytometer).
   
   If the user has some experience with flow cytometry and panel design, and has a good level of support, for a 5-7 color assay, in 2-3 weeks you should be able to have a panel designed, antibodies ordered, titrations performed, controls selected, single-color and biological controls empirically tested.