Key Highlights
– Mission Bio expands into single-cell multi-omics with the launch of its new proprietary technology platform.
– The Tapestri Platform is the first and only to enable key insights to drive the development of more impactful cancer therapies.
Mission Bio, Inc., a South San Francisco, CA-based pioneer in high-throughput single-cell DNA analysis and precision genomics, today announced its expansion into single-cell multi-omics. The company’s proprietary technology, the Tapestri Platform, is now the first-ever single-cell multi-omic platform capable of detecting DNA and protein changes simultaneously from the same cell — a capability necessary for the development of impactful precision therapies. The company has partnered with BioLegend, the global leader in protein antibody and reagent manufacturing, to co-develop the first commercial solution for true multi-omics at the single-cell level.
Lack of Understanding At the Single-Cell Level
Cancer is a disease of single cells, and it is driven by DNA mutations. Until now, we’ve been using outdated tech that’s misled us to focus on the wrong parts of these cancer cells. Due to this, our current understanding of the disease at the single-cell level has been incomplete.
Only 3% of cancer drugs tested in clinical trials between 2000 and 2015 have been approved to treat patients, and even those that have been approved are not as effective as we’d hope. Even those aimed at specific biomarkers like DNA mutations aren’t effective in every patient with that mutation, resulting in high rates of relapse. Ultimately, the complexity of disease evolution and therapy response requires comprehensive tools to characterize how DNA mutations drive disease at the cellular level, including functional changes in the protein. To develop durable therapies, we require a deeper understanding of all analytes of the cell.
For the first time ever, Mission Bio’s Tapestri Platform is now the first and only single-cell multi-omic platform to simultaneously detect single nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variants (CNVs) and proteins from the same cell. With access to multiple layers of the cellular profile, the Tapestri Platform provides the insight necessary to develop the most precise treatments that target the right set of biomarkers in diseased cells, opening the door for more successful patient outcomes.
These new capabilities will finally empower faster development of the most precise, effective treatments ever, putting the company on track to potentially cure cancer by 2030. This launch comes at a crucial time: frustration around the slow development of cancer drugs is at an all-time high and the call for precision medicine validates the direction Mission Bio is pushing the industry towards.
“Connecting the DNA mutational profile with the protein profile of the same cell is transforming our understanding of cancer, as this gives us the capability to connect somatic mutations to specific differentiation states, and to really understand how leukemia initiates and evolves. This is a game-changer when it comes to developing precise, effective treatments,” explained Ross Levine, MD, Chief of Molecular Cancer Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program. “With this insight, we can see the past, present, and future of each person’s cancer, determine how it evolves, and develop new therapeutic approaches aimed to prevent disease evolution and relapse.”
Commercial Launch Date
Co-development between Mission Bio and BioLegend is currently underway, with an expected commercial launch date in early 2020.
