HalioDx Partners with DASA, the Largest Diagnostics Provider in Latin America, to make Immunoscore® available in Brazil

HalioDx Partners with DASA, the Largest Diagnostics Provider in Latin America, to make Immunoscore® available in Brazil

Marseille, France, December 10, 2020 HalioDx SAS, the immuno-oncology diagnostic company pioneering the immunological diagnosis of cancers, today announced that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Diagnosticos da America (DASA) SA for Immunoscore® commercialization in Brazil. Oncologists and patients in Brazil will have an easier access to Immunoscore®, a unique diagnostic assay that predicts the risk of recurrence and the response to the chemotherapy regimen of patients with early stage colon cancer. Today, Immunoscore® is available in main Latin American countries (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and now Brazil) and already used in routine practice in major oncology cancer treatment centers, such as the Institute Fleming in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

DASA has more than 20 thousand employees and 2 thousand doctors, renowned in Brazil and abroad, who work in a robust and capillary health care network across the country.  The company performs more than 275 million exams for 25 million patients per year, through its more than 40 laboratory networks distributed in approximately 800 units. The introduction of Immunoscore® in their panel of innovative testing will accelerate the adoption of our test in Brazil, notably for the triage of early stage colon cancer patients during Covid-19 crisis¹.

“We have been impressed by the capabilities of DASA with a strong footprint in Brazil and a proven record of successes in the highly competitive cancer diagnostics market. This  suggests a rapid ramp up of market penetration for our test in the country ,” says Vincent Fert CEO of HalioDx. He added “We are going to further expand our distribution network worldwide with key players to advocate the introduction of Immunoscore® in the routine practice of oncologists”.

“There are more than 51,000 new cases of Colorectal cancers per year in Brazil² which represent a significant challenge for health organizations in the country. For half of these patients, treatment decisions are problematic leading to over or under treatments. Thanks to Immunoscore®, relapse risk assessment will be improved for early stage colon cancer patients, notably during the Covid-19 crisis where the assay has demonstrated is utility in triaging patients,” commented Dr. Gustavo Aguiar Campana, DASA’s Medical Director. “The partnership between DASA and HalioDx represents a significant advance for Brazilian oncologists in charge of gastrointestinal cancers, ensuring access to precision oncology through an advanced and innovative technology.“

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About Immunoscore®

Immunoscore® is an in vitro diagnostic test measuring the host immune response at the tumor site. It provides a robust, precise, quantitative, and consensus assessment of lymphocytic infiltration and has been shown to predict patient outcome and response to therapies in several indications (³⁴⁵).

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO), in its latest edition of the Digestive System Tumours, introduced immune response as an essential and desirable diagnostic criterion for colorectal cancer, in addition to traditional histological parameters.

Subsequently, Immunoscore® was included in the 2020 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment and Follow-up for Localized Colon Cancer.

Immunoscore® Colon is the first IVD diagnostic test of our Immunoscore® portfolio for which a comprehensive corpus of clinical data demonstrating its clinical utility associated with TNM scoring in the management of localized colon cancer has been published. Additional immune-based assays in the same portfolio are used as clinical trial assays to support translational research and clinical development. Those assays enable Multiplex Spatial Tissue Analysis and combine proprietary multiplexed immunohistochemistry, advanced image analysis and computerized algorithms.

Immunoscore® is currently being investigated in a broad number of clinical studies and cancer indications for establishing its performance as a prognostic factor as well as a predictive factor for response to drugs, notably chemotherapies and immunotherapies.

Immunoscore® is commercially available in more than 20 countries.

About HalioDx

HalioDx is an immuno-oncology diagnostic company providing oncologists and drug development organizations with first-in-class Immune-based diagnostic products and services to guide cancer care and contribute to precision medicine in the era of immuno-oncology and combination therapies.

Leveraging the pioneering work of Dr Jérôme Galon, HalioDx provides a unique range of immune scoring solutions including its flagship Immunoscore® assay for the assessment of the immune contexture of a tumor, as a key determinant of patients’ outcomes and response to cancer treatments.

HalioDx has developed a unique Biopharma partnering ecosystem for the identification of clinically relevant biomarker signatures, the demonstration of their clinical utility in trials and the development and commercialization of resulting diagnostic or companion diagnostic tests. Our programs draw on our expertise and focus on immuno-oncology, a complete suite of genomic and proteomic biomarker profiling services, a world-class data analysis and biostatistics platform, and CLIA-certified laboratories with compliant facilities in Europe and in the US to develop, manufacture, register and market in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products. HalioDx has rapidly become the preferred partner of Biopharma developing therapeutic antibodies, vaccines, chemotherapies, oncolytic peptides, and CAR-T cell therapies.

For more information, please visit our websites www.haliodx.com and www.immunoscore-colon.com and follow the company on Twitter, Linkedin and Youtube.

Immunoscore® is a registered trademark of Inserm licenced to HalioDx. Brightplex®, TMExplore™ and Immunosign® are registered trademarks of HalioDx.

About DASA SA
DASA is the leader in diagnostic medicine in Brazil and Latin America and the 5th largest of the sector in the world, with a focus on clinical analysis, imaging diagnostics, genomics and pathology. The company has a team of more than 24,000 employees and 2,000 doctors, renowned in Brazil and abroad, who work in a robust health care network with cappilarity across the country. Through its more than 40 laboratory brands distributed in about 900 units – such as Delboni Auriemo and Salomão Zoppi (SP), Sérgio Franco and CDPI, (RJ), Exame (DF), among others -, DASA performs more 270 million exams per year. Considered one of the most important health players, DASA works with the purpose of positively impacting people’s health and is committed to be a connecting agent in the sector through a more intelligent, predictive and personalized medicine. In 2019, DASA acquired GSC Integradora de Saúde, with more than 20 years of existence, a reference in Healthcare coordination and management, and Rede Ímpar, the second largest independent hospitalar chain in Brazil, which brings together major hospitals as 9 de Julho (SP), Santa Paula (SP), São Lucas (RJ), CHN (RJ), Brasília Maternity and Hospital (DF) and Águas Claras Hospital (DF).

Contacts

¹O’Connor JM et al, Colorectal Cancer Vol. 9, No. 2.

²International Agency for Research on Cancer, Globocan 2018.

³Pagès F et al. Lancet. 2018; 391 (10135)

⁴Sinicrope FA et al JNCI Cancer Spectrum 2020

⁵Pagès F et al. Ann Oncol, 2020

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