HaemaLogiX Announces the Outcomes of Two Innovation Connections Grant Projects

In 2019, HaemaLogiX was awarded 2 Innovation Connections grants under the Entrepreneurs’ Programme in the Commonwealth’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. The Innovation Connections Grant aims to help collaboration between business and research organisations to develop and implement new ideas with commercial potential.

The first grant for $50,000 was awarded in Q1 of 2019 and was a collaboration with the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR). The project established a validated flow cytometry method using HaemaLogiX’s monoclonal antibodies KappaMab and LambdaMab to detect the kappa myeloma antigen (KMA) and the lambda myeloma antigen (LMA) on the cell surfaces of bone-marrow-derived cells from patients with multiple myeloma. This assay is being optimised for use in a hospital setting so that the presence of KMA or LMA can be determined prior to treating myeloma patients.

The second grant for $49,817 was awarded in Q3 2019 and was a continuation of the collaboration with WIMR. This project continued the clinical assessment of the method for assessing the presence of KMA and LMA on bone-marrow-derived B cells from multiple myeloma patients and included additional characterisation of these myeloma cells. As was the case in the first project, the method is being adapted for use with laboratory flow cytometers at the hospital sites that will be conducting the KMA.CAR T cell trial (KMA.CAR T cells express the KappaMab antibody). 

HaemaLogiX is an Australian-based immune-oncology development company researching immune-based treatments that target novel antigens on malignant B cells, and it contributed over the minimum required matching funds for these projects.