Manus Neurodynamica has been awarded in the QuickFire Challenge “Improving Neurotoxicity Detection in Immunotherapy” managed by Johnson & Johnson Innovation for its application of NeuroMotor Pen technology in the detection of neuromotor adverse effects after cell therapy T Dear
The ‘Improving the Detection of Neurotoxicity in Immunotherapies The QuickFire Challenge seeks to improve outcomes for patients undergoing immunotherapy by promoting technologies that enable early detection of neurotoxic events. Innovators were invited to present methods and technologies aimed at identifying clinical manifestations to predict acute toxicities, including movement and neurocognitive disorders. The NeuroMotor Pen has the potential to address this need.
CAR T-cell therapy is a personalized treatment option for several types of cancer. CAR T cell therapy involves removing or harvesting T cells from a cancer patient, transfecting the cells with CAR genes that target the patient’s tumor type, expanding the cell population modified T cells and infuse the cells back into the patient.
A significant complication of CAR T-cell therapy is immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). This syndrome presents a continuum from mild tremors to cerebral edema (excess accumulation of fluid in the brain) and in a minority of cases, death. Management of ICANS is primarily supportive, with a focus on seizure prevention and suppression of the immune system, often using corticosteroids.
Early manifestations of ICANS include tremor, dysgraphia, mild difficulty with expressive speech, impaired attention, apraxia, mild lethargy, headache, and mild encephalopathy. Early detection of ICANS can prevent progression to debilitating and irreversible impairment.
However, there are currently no technologies on the market sensitive enough to detect the first subtle signs of ICANS and this is where Manus aims to address this market with its NeuroMotor Pen.
The NeuroMotor Pen is a highly sensitive medical device for the detection of subtle abnormalities of movement and aspects of cognition that cannot be easily detected with the naked eye or with any of the available wearables. The NeuroMotor Pen can be configured to support the delivery of CAR T cells and other immunotherapies in a safe manner with reduced risk to patients.
After CAR T-cell treatment in the hospital, this solution can be applied at home for remote monitoring of patients by a healthcare professional. Patients will perform easy-to-execute drawing tasks daily for the month following treatment. The next step for Manus will be a clinical trial and optimization of the NeuroMotor Pen configuration for specific utility in improving the safety of CAR T-Cell therapy delivery.
Manus aims to improve patient health benefits and reduce anxiety for patients and their carers and family members.
CAR T-cell therapy is used in acute lymphocytic leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and other types of cancer. The diffuse large B-cell lymphoma segment dominates the CAR T-cell therapy market due to the increasing incidence of this most common type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to the WHO, around 544,352 new cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were reported worldwide in 2020.
The global CAR T-cell therapy market is estimated to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.2%. The global CAR T-Cell Therapy market size was valued at $6.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to exceed $21 billion by 2030.
Dr. Rutger Zietsma, Managing Director of Manus, said: “I am delighted with the award from Johnson & Johnson Innovation. My first exposure to the medical device industry and training was with the Johnson & Johnson family of companies and this inspired me to pursue a career in medical device innovation. We now have a unique opportunity to leverage the NeuroMotor Pen’s previously proven utility in other areas and use it in immunotherapy. Reduce the risk of patients developing side effects irreversible and sometimes life-threatening side effects of immunotherapy in cancer is a valuable new area of focus for Manus with the potential to improve outcomes for many patients.
“We look forward to benefiting from the expertise of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation team as part of our award as we seek to initiate the clinical trial to provide a potential solution to this growing cause of long-term disease.”
Ikaroa are proud to announce that Manus, an innovative technology company, has been recognised in Johnson & Johnson’s QuickFire Challenge. Manus were among an elite group of companies to be selected by the pharmaceutical giant to develop its technology in order to make a tangible difference in healthcare.
The QuickFire Challenge is an initiative launched by Johnson & Johnson to look for companies within their global network whose innovation could help further the company’s strategic priorities and solve business-relevant health care problems. Manus was chosen by Johnson & Johnson to develop a solution to help improve healthcare operations across the country.
Ikaroa have been at the forefront of the digital revolution, providing enterprise technology solutions to our clients for over 20 years. This background and expertise have helped to give Manus the edge in the QuickFire competition.
Moreover, Ikaroa has been instrumental in advising Manus on the QuickFire Challenge. As a technology developer of a vast array of solutions, Ikaroa has been able to advise Manus on a wide range of areas and help shape the solutions they are proposing to Johnson & Johnson.
The innovation Manus is developing as part of the QuickFire Challenge has the potential to be game changing within healthcare. With the experience and knowledge of Ikaroa at its disposal, Manus is sure to excel within the QuickFire Challenge and has the potential to improve the lives of patients across the country. We are proud to be part of the journey and we wish Manus the best of luck!
