Press

Ymir Genomics and Oregon Health & Science University Announce Agreement, Co-Discovery of Robust Urine Biomarkers of Liver Disease, and Patent Application Filing

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS and PORTLAND, OREGON — Ymir Genomics LLC (Ymir) and the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute today announced a licensing agreement and filed patent application that seeks to protect and promote newly-discovered high value urinary biomarkers for detecting cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in at-risk patient populations. The agreement and patent filing cover all protein and miRNA biomarkers discovered in their joint 60-patient pilot study, which utilized Ymir’s class-leading patented (U.S. Patent No. 10,669,535) extracellular vesicle isolation technology.

Ymir and OHSU will share in any value created by the biomarkers, will jointly publish and validate the biomarkers in a large-scale multi-center study currently in design. The agreement was signed in August 2020, with patent application U.S. Serial No. 63/074,738 filed September 4, 2020.

“We are honored to continue working with OHSU on liver disease biomarkers,” commented Shannon Pendergrast, Chief Science Officer at Ymir Genomics, LLC. “The main goal of our pilot study with OHSU was to perfect our sample prep and analysis methods, which we clearly accomplished as we found known serum liver disease markers in the urine. We consider this proof-of-principal for the methods. Importantly, we have also discovered over a dozen novel candidate biomarkers.”

“We are excited to build on our work with Ymir towards liver disease biomarkers,” said Dr. Christina Binder, study coleader and Adjunct Professor for OHSU. “There is a real need for non-invasive, widely available biomarkers for cirrhosis and HCC. We believe this collaboration will further the work on early detection of these diseases.”

About Ymir Genomics:
Ymir Genomics LLC is a biotech start-up based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company is committed to providing researchers with the tools they need to create non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic assays from biofluids such as urine, CSF, and saliva. Ymir Genomics is also using these tools internally and through collaborations to search for urine biomarkers for cancer and diabetes.

Ymir Genomics and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Announce Collaboration to Discover Urine Liver Cancer Biomarkers

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS and PORTLAND, OREGON — Ymir Genomics LLC (Ymir) and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, OHSU, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop urinary biomarkers that will help detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in at-risk patient populations. The collaboration will exploit Ymir Genomics’ proprietary urinary extracellular vesicle technology (www.ymirgenomics.com) and the expertise of the Knight Cancer Institute supported OHSU Proteomics Shared Resource (http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/research/research-cores/proteomics/). Ymir will isolate extracellular vesicles and analyze miRNA profiles of urine samples from liver cancer patients and high-risk cirrhotic patient controls provided by OHSU. OHSU will take the same vesicle preps and determine protein profiles. A collaboration agreement and IRB are approved and a pilot study is underway, funded by a Medical Research Foundation of Oregon Early Clinical Investigator Award Grant to Dr. Christina Binder.

“We are honored to work with OHSU. They have assembled a spectacular team of clinicians and researchers including Dr. Charles Thomas (Team Leader), Dr. Scott Naugler (Liver Disease Diagnostics/Treatment), Dr. Ashok Reddy (Proteomics Shared Resource) and Dr. Christina Binder (Radiation Medicine Resident),” commented P. Shannon Pendergrast, Chief Science Officer at Ymir Genomics, LLC. “With our technology and OHSU’s considerable expertise, I am confident that we can find these much-needed biomarkers. Imagine at-risk patients monitoring their liver health by simply dropping a urine sample into the mail. The stability of exosomes in urine makes this possible.”

“It’s exciting to be collaborating with the team at Ymir on this project. This is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when bringing basic scientists, clinicians, and industry together,” says Dr. Larry David, Director of the OHSU Proteomics Shared Resource. “The work dovetails quite well with the major research goal of the Knight Cancer Institute, which is to be able to detect cancers earlier so they can be more effectively treated.”

About the Knight Cancer Institute:
The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University is a pioneer in the field of precision cancer medicine. The institute’s director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped prove it was possible to shut down just the cells that enable cancer to grow. This breakthrough has made once-fatal forms of the disease manageable and transformed how cancer is treated. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle – an honor earned only by the nation’s top cancer centers. It is headquarters for one of the National Cancer Institute’s largest research collaboratives, SWOG, in addition to offering the latest treatments and technologies as well as hundreds of research studies and clinical trials. For additional information on the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute visit www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/cancer or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ymir Genomics and Cambridge Biolabs Launch Urine Extracellular Vesicle Isolation and Analysis Service

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Ymir Genomics has developed a novel and efficient platform for the isolation of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) and/or Extracellular RNA from urine. This method works directly from whole urine samples and has been shown to work in samples stored for over 1 year at -80° C. The method even works on very dilute samples. EVs isolated by Ymir are intact and contain multiple exosomal/vesicle protein markers (i.e. CD9, Rab5, HSP70). RNA isolated by Ymir is suitable for qRT-PCR, RNA Array downstream analysis and is currently being evaluated for Next Generation Sequencing.

The Ymir Genomics Urine Extracellular Vesicle/RNA Isolation Service is now available to beta-testers. Users can send samples directly to Ymir Genomics and receive back either Extracellular vesicle or Extracellular RNA preps. Furthermore, Ymir Genomics has teamed up with respected contract research organization, Cambridge Biolabs (CBL) to offer downstream analysis of Extracellular RNA preps with qRT-PCR or miRNA microarrays. See www.ymirgenomics.com/ymir for more details.

“We are excited about teaming up with CBL to fulfill a real need that up-to-now has impeded urine biomarker discovery efforts,” commented P. Shannon Pendergrast, Chief Science Officer at Ymir Genomics, LLC. “With our technology and CBLs outstanding analysis this easily acquired biofluid is now more accessible to academic, clinical, and pharmaceutical researchers.”

“The isolation technology developed by Ymir Genomics is a great leap forward for exosome studies. We at Cambridge Biolabs are thrilled to expand our service offerings in conjunction with Ymir, and to contribute to advancements in biomarker research.” – Laura Holberger, Cambridge Site Manager at Cambridge Biolabs, LLC.

About Ymir Genomics:
Ymir Genomics LLC is a biotech start-up based at LabCentral in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company is committed to providing researchers with the tools they need to create non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic assays from biofluids such as urine, CSF, and saliva. Ymir Genomics is also using these tools internally and through collaborations to search for urine biomarkers for cancer and diabetes.

About Cambridge Biolabs:
Cambridge Biolabs (http://www.cambridgebiolabs.com/) is a state-of-the art biotechnology incubator and contract research organization located in Cambridge MA. CRO Services include Assay Development, RT-qPCR, High-throughput Screening and RNAi. Attention to detail and responsive Customer Service are stressed for every project.

Ymir Genomics and Medical University of South Carolina Announce Collaboration to Discover Urine Bladder Cancer Biomarkers

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Ymir Genomics LLC, a developer of innovative tools for the isolation of extracellular vesicles, today announced a strategic collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) towards the discovery of urine bladder cancer biomarkers. The goal is to develop a diagnostic kit that would replace the invasive and expensive cystoscopy procedure for identifying bladder cancer relapse in patients with a history of the disease. The collaboration will exploit Ymir Genomics’ proprietary urinary extracellular vesicle/RNA isolation technology (www.ymirgenomics.com) and the state-of-the-art MUSC Proteomics Center (www.musc.edu). Ymir Genomics will isolate extracellular vesicles and RNA and analyze miRNA profiles of urine from bladder cancer patients and controls. MUSC will take the same isolated vesicle preps and determine protein, glycan, and lipid profiles.

“We are honored to work with Dr. Richard Drake, the Director of the MUSC Proteomics Center and a leader in the field of proteomics and glycoprotein analysis,” commented P. Shannon Pendergrast, Chief Science Officer at Ymir Genomics, LLC. “With our technology and his considerable expertise, I am confident that we can find these much needed biomarkers. Imagine replacing the onerous and invasive cystoscopy by simply dropping a urine sample into the mail. The stability of exosomes in urine makes this possible.”

“The rapid urine exosome isolation method developed by Ymir Genomics is potentially transformative for how clinical diagnostics can be done in urine samples from bladder cancer patients, as well as tests for many other diseases,” commented Richard Drake, PhD. “This is a great opportunity to merge the advanced technologies of Ymir Genomics and the MUSC Proteomics Center with the clinical resources of the Hollings Cancer Center to develop a much needed non-invasive diagnostic for bladder cancer.”

About MUSC Proteomics Center and Hollings Cancer Center:
The MUSC Proteomics Center was created in 2003 to promote development of new proteomic technologies. Current research emphasis is on the development of new clinical diagnostic and biomarker assays using high-resolution mass spectrometry resources. New approaches to evaluate and visualize the distribution of lipids, glycans and glycolipids in tissues using imaging mass spectrometry is also ongoing. The Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer program in South Carolina. The cancer center is comprised of more than 120 faculty cancer scientists with a research funding portfolio of $43 million and a dedication to reducing the cancer burden of South Carolina.