Hummingbird, Tempus collaborate to harness AI-driven precision medicine

One percent of all solid tumors harbor NRG1 fusions, a rare genetic mutation that drives malignancies.

Singapore biotech company Hummingbird Bioscience has announced a collaboration with technology company Tempus to harness AI and big data in support of a biomarker-driven clinical trial for Hummingbird’s anti-HER3 antibody, HMBD-001, including those that harbor neuregulin 1 (NRG1) fusions.

NRG1 fusions are a rare genetic mutation that are increasingly recognized as a driver of multiple tumor malignancies, and an actionable target for HER3 targeted therapy. One percent of all solid tumors harbor NRG1 fusions, which deems the necessity to identify this patient population and develop therapies that can treat them.

As part of the collaboration, Hummingbird will leverage Tempus’ AI-enabled platform and proprietary data, as well as joining its TIME Trial Network, for rapid identification, site activation, and efficient enrollment of cancer patients who have NRG1 fusions and meet eligibility criteria for HMBD-001 clinical trials.

“We are excited to collaborate with Tempus to leverage their just-in-time clinical trial program and apply Hummingbird’s deep knowledge of disease driving protein mechanisms in order to identify patients with actionable genetic abnormalities,” Hummingbird co-founder and chief executive officer Dr Piers Ingram said.

“This collaboration is an opportunity to identify those patients who could benefit from this investigational therapy, and if they are eligible, rapidly open the trial just for them,” Tempus vice president of operations, therapies Amy Franzen said.