Fabienne HERMITTE

At Veracyte, one of the priority subjects is immuno-oncology diagnostics, a revolutionary therapeutic approach which remains successful only in limited number of patients. To date, it is still unclear how to identify in advance patients who will respond to new immunotherapy antibodies, and even if certain biomarkers are already available, their predictive value is still perfectible.

In response, Veracyte develops tests to better characterise the patient’s cancer immune response, to establish more precisely the prognosis and to predict the response to immunotherapies but also to standard therapies.

The Ipsogen adventure, started in 1999 with blood cancers diagnosis, including their rarest forms, allowed me to contribute to the standardisation of technologies for diagnosis and monitoring of leukaemia and, in connection with European networks (EAC; Europe Against Cancer) and ELN (European LeukemiaNet), to establish the medical value of our tests. This same approach has been successfully applied at HalioDx and now at Veracyte. We implement clinical validation plans with diagnostic tests on patient sample collections that are characterised and supplied with clinical data (administered treatments, survival data, etc).

Diagnostic in immuno-oncology is an innovative field combining the latest discoveries in immunology and new imaging technologies, such as digital pathology. In this context, Marseille Immunopôle is an extraordinary lever for developing the entire chain, from prognostic and predictive biomarkers discovery to their clinical validation in routine use, providing patients with personalised care.