Provincial funding boosts cancer research in Sudbury

Ontario provides $1.1 million in funding through NOHFC to accelerate Sudbury cancer research.

Provincial funding is accelerating groundbreaking cancer research being conducted in Greater Sudbury, where researchers at the Health Sciences North Research Institute are receiving $1.1 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp.

Dr. Amadeo Parissenti is the chief scientific officer with RNA Diagnostics, a clinical-stage molecular diagnostics company operating its laboratory at Sudbury’s research institute.

His work started back in 2008 with the Canadian Clinical Trials Group.

“When I first came to Sudbury … I was a bit surprised to hear that the majority of patients who get treated for breast cancer in particular -- but also for other cancers -- don’t necessarily get a survival benefit from chemotherapy,” Parissenti said.

“There was no way to be able to discern, during treatment or before treatment, who was going to benefit from chemotherapy and who wasn’t.”

A clinical trial conducted in collaboration with Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto aimed to evaluate whether a patient would benefit from chemotherapy. The trial looked at the genetics of tumours and whether genes were “changing expression or activity in response to treatment,” he said.

Isolated RNA

“And it turns out that in order to assess the whether genes are active or not, you isolate their RNA,” Parissenti said.

“So we isolated RNA from the tumour samples prior to treatment and during treatment. And lo and behold, the RNA itself was telling us an interesting story.”

Preliminary results from the BREVITY (breast cancer response evaluation for individualized therapy) clinical trials showed they could identify who would benefit from chemo with a 93.3 per cent accuracy rate.

The technology RNA Diagnostics developed, Veridapt DX, is currently being evaluated through the clinical trials, which involve about 650 patients in 55 cancer centres in seven countries.

Parissenti said the NOHFC funding will allow RNA Diagnostics to bring their technology to the market.

“It’s one of those examples of where government can work with the private sector, and the two together can create things that either alone often cannot,” he said.

Phase 2 trials

As the company prepares for the anticipated completion of the BREVITY Phase 2 trial, the funding will support laboratory expansion, accreditation and regulatory requirements.

In addition to provincial money, RNA Diagnostics has raised more than $2 million from investors, including the Northern Cancer Foundation, which has supported Parissenti’s research for more than 25 years.

“This investment speaks to the strength of research and innovation happening in northeastern Ontario,” said David McNeil, president and CEO of HSN.

“We are proud to support work that not only advances cancer care, but also builds local capacity, attracts investment and creates highly skilled jobs in our region. Thanks to the province’s commitment and the longstanding support of our foundation and donors, discoveries made here in Sudbury are making an impact far beyond our community.”