NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PGxHealth, a division of Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA), today announced that it has begun a broad research collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh to discover and further validate the application of genetic variants in FCGR (Fc gamma receptor) genes, including FCGR3A, for predicting response to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in cancer treatment. The strategic collaboration aims to conduct a series of clinical programs to evaluate the response to mAb-based therapies, such as Erbitux (cetuximab), Rituxan (rituximab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) and potentially other mAbs of the IgG1 subclass in treating a variety of cancers. The collaboration builds upon the large and growing body of evidence demonstrating the contribution of genetic variants in the FCGR family to mAb response in cancer treatment. It also expands PGxHealth’s own FCGR program, which includes collaborations with other prominent researchers at leading institutions, and its own PGxPredict®:RITUXIMAB test for a gene variant used to determine response to rituximab monotherapy in follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Fc gamma receptors are antibody receptors found on immune-regulatory white blood cells, such as T-cells.
