Dr Cassetta was presented with the award at an Awards Ceremony on the evening of 13 November, at the end of the SITC 36th Annual Meeting November 10-13, in Washington DC.
Edinburgh and Cambridge, UK, 15 November 2021 - Macomics Ltd, an immuno-oncology company with world-leading expertise in macrophage biology, is pleased to announce that its co-founder and Vice President Immunology, Dr Luca Cassetta has been honoured by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) with the ‘Best Immunotherapy Biomarkers Paper Award’ for his 2020 publication ‘Differential expansion of circulating human MDSC subsets in patients with cancer, infection and inflammation’.
As first author, Dr Cassetta was presented with the award at an Awards Ceremony on the evening of 13 November, at the end of the SITC 36th Annual Meeting November 10-13, in Washington DC. SITC is the world’s leading member-driven organisation specifically dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy.
The publication provides improved technical protocols and workflows for the multi-center analysis of circulating human Myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) subsets. The presence of MDSC has been reported in the peripheral blood of patients with several malignant and non-malignant diseases, but direct comparison of MDSC across different diseases and centers is hindered by a lack of standardized methodology.
Accepting the award, Dr Luca Cassetta, co-founder and Vice President Immunology, Macomics said: “On behalf of the teams at our international network of 13 laboratories, I thank the judges for choosing our paper. This was the first study where a standardised SOP was used to compare frequency and activation status of MDSC in multiple patients cohorts. Results showed a significant expansion of PMN MDSC in cancer patients and shed light on important biomarkers such as PDL1 and LOX1. This paper represents a very useful resource for patient stratification and biomarker discovery in the clinical setting.”
JITC Editor-in-Chief Pedro J. Romero, MD, said: “Each year, one article is selected in the Immunotherapy Biomarkers category for presenting outstanding research on the discovery, development and/or clinical significance of biomarkers for immunomodulatory anti-cancer treatments. Following evaluation by a prestigious review committee of SITC leadership and the JITC Editorial Board, Dr Casetta’s paper was the highest ranked in category. I congratulated him and his network on being our 2021 winner, and I am delighted to present the award in recognition of their great achievement.”
The award-winning publication can be found here https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001223.
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About Macomics – www.macomics.com
Macomics Ltd is an immuno-oncology company with world-leading expertise in macrophage biology, developing precision medicines to modulate macrophages for the treatment of cancer. The company is progressing a diversified portfolio of therapies targeting disease specific tumour associated macrophages (‘TAMs’) towards the clinic. Its target discovery platform enables identification and validation of novel macrophage therapeutic targets and is based on its deep understanding of macrophage biology.
The company was co-founded in 2020 by Prof. Jeffrey Pollard and Dr. Luca Cassetta, University of Edinburgh, internationally recognised leaders in macrophage biology. It has R&D and office facilities in Edinburgh and Cambridge, UK and is backed by Epidarex Capital, Scottish Enterprise, and Caribou Property Limited.
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