ASC Oncology proudly announces new partnership with Tamer Group

Berlin, Germany (November, 01 2022) – Across borders, cancer is one of those diseases that is unpredictable, malignant and, despite high research efforts, not yet conquered. About 19.3 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer every year, and at the same time the prescribed chemotherapy fails in about half of all cancer patients. It is therefore essential to make advances in personalized cancer treatment available to doctors and cancer patients around the globe as quickly as possible and in a responsible manner. 

Therefore, the Berlin-based biotech company ASC Oncology GmbH (“ASC Oncology”) thinks beyond borders and is committed to the international use of Reverse Clinical Engineering® test procedure. The possibility that patients and oncologists know, based on scientific data, which drug is likely to work for an individual patient before a drug therapy is started should become a matter of course worldwide. 

As an important next step in this journey, ASC Oncology today proudly announces its strategic partnership with Tamer Group. Through their century-long history, associated healthcare experience and the Tamer Group’s large network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa, the Reverse Clinical Engineering® testing procedure will thus become accessible to many patients as an important approach to personalized cancer therapy. 

Tumor researcher Dr. Christian Regenbrecht, co-developer of the Reverse Clinical Engineering® procedure, emphasizes the benefits of the new partnership for cancer patients and treating physicians: “For three years, we have been using the testing procedure to support oncologists and patients in optimally individualising cancer treatment. With Reverse Clinical Engineering®, we test different drug treatment options before starting therapy and thus find the therapy option that is most likely to have an effect on the individual patient’s tumor. Outside the patient’s body and thus without side effects. This is a key step on the road to establishing personalized cancer therapy, which we are now taking together with the Tamer Group.”

Reverse Clinical Engineering® enables oncologists to offer their patients effective therapy from the outset. Using a tissue sample of the patient’s tumor taken during a biopsy or tumor surgery, 3D copies of the tumor, called organoids, are grown in the laboratory. In the next step, various cancer drugs are tested on these organoids to determine their effectiveness on the individual patient’s tumor. In this way, on the one hand, a probably unsuccessful therapy can be prevented from unnecessarily burdening the cancer patient and, on the other hand, the chance of a therapeutic response can be significantly improved.

Berlin, 01/27/2021 – In about half of the world’s cancer patients, the prescribed chemotherapy fails. With the Reverse Clinical Engineering^Ò  test procedure, ASC Oncology addresses this challenge in cancer treatment and makes scientifically sound statements on how effective, or not, cancer drugs are likely to be on each patient’s individual tumor tissue. Outside the body, no animal testing, without side effects, and before the therapy begins. 

Starting on February 1, 2021, at least 1,000 patients per year will be able to make decisions on their therapy with the help of individual drug tests carried out on 3D organoid models of their respective tumors. 3D cell culture models (PD3D^Ò), so-called organoids, which are copies of the patient’s original tumor grown in the laboratory from a tumor sample, form the basis for the Reverse Clinical Engineering^Ò  test procedure. Organoids are made up of cell clusters and retain the original tumor’s complex composition. In consultation with the attending oncologist, ASC Oncology uses these to test different cancer drugs and combination treatments in parallel. First results can become available after only two weeks. Depending on the organoids’ growth rate, which is determined by the aggressiveness of the tumor, it takes up to four to six weeks to test every possible therapeutic approach.  ASC Oncology can thus use the pathological and molecular biological data to make science-based predictions on the potential drug’s effectiveness and resistances.

“Information helps people make better decisions – that’s why our goal is to empower patients to make the best possible, informed vital decisions,” explains Christian Regenbrecht, founder of ASC Oncology and developer of the Reverse Clinical Engineering^Ò procedure. “ASC Oncology sees itself as a team player that supports, not replaces, the oncologist with the proposed test procedure.” ASC Oncology is already able to offer affected patients and oncologists today what will presumably be routine in cancer treatment of the future: to adapt each cancer patient’s treatment effectively and personally through individualized medicine. The Reverse Clinical Engineering^Ò procedure spares patients the massive side effects of unnecessary therapy and gains valuable treatment time.

To simplify the service’s complexity, it is offered in three different packages. These differ in the number of tumor tissue pieces processed, the scope of the drugs to be tested, the choice of an additional protein analysis as well as an optional preservation of the tumor cells.  See our various packages and prices here at a glance: www.asc-oncology.com/prices. As the test procedure is not covered by health insurance, it is offered at cost price and must currently be paid privately by the patients. ASC Oncology has founded the non-profit organization Cancer Rebels e.V. (www.cancer-rebels.club) to offer cancer patients with limited means various options to receive financial support to allow them to take advantage of the testing procedure and much more.