Syntheca-Chungnam National University Hospital Research Team Wins Excellence Poster Award at Korean Society of Hematology International Conference

Syntekabio and the research team of Professors Song Ik-chan and Kwon Jae-yeol from Chungnam National University Hospital College of Medicine announced on the 9th that their joint research won the '2024 Korean Society of Hematology International Conference Excellent Poster Award.'

Professor Song Ik-chan from the Department of Hematology-Oncology at Chungnam National University Hospital and researcher Choi Soo-young from Chungnam National University College of Medicine utilized Syntekabio's cancer neoantigen prediction artificial intelligence (AI) platform, ‘NEO-ARS.’ They discovered personalized cancer vaccine target neoantigens for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Using patients' peripheral blood, they confirmed T cell responses induced by cancer neoantigens through ex vivo experiments.

Wildtype peptides, which do not contain mutations, did not activate immune cells of patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, neoantigen peptides containing mutations in the same gene activated the immune cells of the respective patients, inducing the secretion of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) cytokines.

AML is a disease with a high relapse rate and strong toxicity from intensive chemotherapy, highlighting the need for new treatments that overcome the limitations of current therapies. In this context, there is growing interest in the development of personalized immuno-oncology therapies using cancer neoantigens.

Syntekabio expects that the excellent cancer neoantigen prediction technology of NEO-ARS will be highly useful in developing personalized immuno-oncology therapies such as T cell receptor therapies (TCR-T) and cancer vaccines.

A Syntekabio representative stated, "By winning the excellent poster award for our joint research results, we were able to once again confirm the cancer neoantigen prediction performance of ‘NEO-ARS.’ We plan to promote ‘NEO-ARS’ at events such as PEGS Boston in May." They added, "We will seek business opportunities to utilize it in the development of personalized cell therapies and cancer vaccines through future global joint research and collaborations."