Oncology
effectiveness and economic efficiency. By identifying which therapies are most likely to improve progression-free survival (PFS) for an individual patient, FPO can help reduce ineffective treatments, minimise adverse events, and potentially avoid costly trial-and-error therapy. Moreover, linking treatment decisions to
measurable improvements in PFS establishes a pathway toward value-based oncology reimbursement and more sustainable healthcare spending. The next critical step is to quantify and validate the impact of FPO on PFS through prospective clinical trials. This evidence will be essential for refining economic models and assessing the cost-effectiveness of FPO across different cancer types, ultimately supporting broader adoption in healthcare systems.
Q. You’ve recently collaborated with the University Hospital of Zurich to validate the LiveBank platform. What have been the key insights from that partnership so far? A. PreComb has established a preferred partnership with the University Hospital Zurich (USZ), including the Children’s Hospital, leveraging patient cancer cells stored in the LiveBank. The USZ is among the front-runners in evaluating and implementing precision medicine platforms and hosted the first prototype of the 3DTwin profiler for fully automated drug testing. This collaboration has provided key insights
on both operational and clinical fronts. From an implementation perspective, it allowed us to refine the workflow for integrating functional precision oncology directly into the clinic. From a translational standpoint, early patient data — particularly in paediatric brain cancer — have demonstrated that the 3DTwin platform can predict patient-specific treatment responses. These results validate the potential of functional profiling to inform clinical decision-making and highlight the feasibility of deploying automated, patient-centric testing platforms in a real-world hospital setting.
Q. Looking ahead, how do you see functional cancer profiling evolving over the next five to ten years? A. Over the next five to ten years, functional cancer profiling (FCP) is likely to become an integral part of routine oncology care, complementing genomic and molecular diagnostics. We anticipate several key trends: 1. Broader Clinical Integration: Automated, on-site platforms like 3DTwin will enable hospitals and cancer centres to incorporate functional testing directly into clinical workflows, reducing reliance on centralised labs and shortening turnaround times.
PreComb’s technology is aiding precision oncology
2. Personalised Combination Therapies: Functional profiling will increasingly guide the selection of individualised drug combinations, including targeted, cytotoxic, and immune- oncological agents, tailored to each patient’s unique tumour biology.
3. Data-Driven Precision: Large-scale FCP datasets, combined with AI and machine learning, will refine predictive models, improving accuracy and enabling the discovery of novel therapeutic vulnerabilities.
4. Value-Based Oncology: By directly linking treatment selection to measurable patient outcomes such as progression-free survival, FCP could support the shift toward value- based care and reimbursement models, ensuring that therapies deliver both clinical and economic benefit.
5. Paediatric and Rare Cancers: FCP will likely expand access for patient populations where traditional molecular approaches are limited, including paediatric cancers and rare tumour types, offering actionable insights where few options exist.
Ultimately, the evolution of functional cancer profiling promises a more precise, responsive, and evidence-driven oncology ecosystem, where treatment decisions are guided not just by the tumour’s molecular profile, but by its observed behaviour in response to therapy.
References 1. Letai A, Bhola P, Welm AL. Functional precision
oncology: Testing tumors with drugs to identify vulnerabilities and novel combinations. Cancer Cell. 2022 Jan 10;40(1):26-35. doi: 10.1016/j. ccell.2021.12.004. Epub 2021 Dec 23. PMID: 34951956; PMCID: PMC8752507.
2. Letai A. Functional Precision Medicine: Putting Drugs on Patient Cancer Cells and Seeing What Happens. Cancer Discov. 2022 Feb;12(2):290- 292. doi: 10.1158/
2159-8290.CD-21-1498. PMID: 35140175; PMCID: PMC8852353.
About Dr. Jens M. Kelm
CSJ
Dr. Jens M. Kelm is the Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Precomb, a Swiss biotech company developing proprietary technologies that enable evidence-based treatment decisions in cancer through 3D cell culture and life-science process automation.
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