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Add Sponsored Symposia to your schedule and connect with industry supporters to learn about developments and technologies in the field of cancer immunotherapy. In-person and virtual events will take place Thursday Nov. 11 - Saturday Nov. 13. Sponsored Symposia content and views expressed therein are those of the sponsoring organization and not of SITC.

IN-PERSON SYMPOSIA
Thursday, Nov. 11
AstraZeneca

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
12:15-1:15 p.m.
Room 202AB, WEWCC

Treatment Options in Lung Cancer: Unresectable Stage III NSCLC & Extensive-Stage SCLC

Treatment of Unresectable Stage III NSCLC and Extensive-Stage SCLC presented by Dr Leora Horn, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Global Clinical Head for Lung Cancer and Lung Cancer Strategy at AstraZeneca.

IsoPlexis

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
12:15-1:15 p.m.
Room 204ABC, WEWCC

Emerging standard single cell functional biomarkers of immune function and potency , and Duomic, a novel simultaneous single cell transcriptomics and functional proteomics platform to transform connected therapeutic biology

Akoya Biosciences

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
6:30-8 p.m.
Independence Ballroom, Marriott Marquis

Leading and Managing Spatial Biomarker Innovations in Immuno-Oncology: Multi-Stakeholder Perspectives

Advances in the field of spatial biomarkers in Immuno-Oncology are accelerating the pathway to precision medicine. Join us for a Dinner Symposium at SITC on Thursday, November 11^th at 6-8pm sponsored by Akoya Biosciences. An expert panel from Pharma, Academia, and the CRO space will discuss how they are transforming this field through innovation and its impact on the spatial biomarker landscape. In this panel discussion, Drs. Robert Schreiber (Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis), Michael Surace (AstraZeneca), and Qingyan (Sandy) Au (NeoGenomics) will discuss their current research and initiatives that establish the vital role of spatial biomarkers in setting the future direction for achieving Precision Immuno-Oncology.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the current landscape including market trends and stakeholder needs for spatial biomarkers in immuno-oncology.
• Learn about the various strategies and solutions posed by different research segments including Pharma, Academia, and CRO industry to advance spatial biomarkers.
• Gain insight into the role of spatial signatures in improving immunotherapy outcomes in the future.

Exelixis, Inc.

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
6:30-8 p.m.
Georgetown, Marriott Marquis

A Combination Treatment for Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

This session provides an overview of a combination treatment approach for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. The overview will cover efficacy and safety data, tolerability, patient-reported quality of life and dosing considerations.

Palleon Pharmaceuticals

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021
6:30-8 p.m.
Gallaudet, Marriott Marquis

Sialoglycan-Mediated Immune Regulation: Glycobiology Meets Immuno-Oncology

Speakers include:

• Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, Baker Family Director of Stanford CHEM-H, Scientific Co-Founder, Palleon Pharmaceuticals
• James Paulson, Ph.D., Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor and Co-Chair, Department of Molecular Medicine, Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research Institute, Scientific Advisor, Palleon Pharmaceuticals
• David Feltquate, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Palleon Pharmaceuticals

Please join us in person or virtually for a discussion of recent discoveries that highlight the connection between glycoscience and immuno-oncology.

Please register:  : https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mYlgxKr_Qe23N3-pHwhm3g

Friday, Nov. 12
10x Genomics

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Stage, WEWCC

Driving biomarker discovery in cancer immunotherapy with single cell and spatial multiomics

The vast complexities of cancer are characterized by heterogeneity - from intrinsic features of the tumor to complex interactions with the tumor microenvironment. Elucidating disease mechanisms and response to immunotherapies requires a deep understanding of the cell types and functional states mediating the anti-tumor immune response, as well as their spatial organization in tissue. However, traditional assays and tools that analyze tissue in bulk miss significant amounts of information and context due to limited throughput and/or resolution. Through innovations in single cell sequencing and spatial multiomics, solutions from 10x Genomics help researchers dissect the immune and tumor microenvironment, track the anti-tumor immune response, and uncover mechanisms of response and resistance to immunotherapies. Join 10x Genomics to learn how researchers are using our single cell assays and spatial biology tools to gain a multidimensional view of cancer.

Adaptive Biotechnologies 

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Independence Ballroom, Marriott Marquis

Utilizing immunosequencing in cancer research and immunotherapy

Adaptive Biotechnologies’ immunoSEQ® Technology is an end-to-end immunosequencing solution capable of profiling millions of B- and T-cell receptors at high throughput and providing a quantitative view into the immune repertoire.

Join or watch our Symposium titled: Utilizing immunosequencing in cancer research and immunotherapy

Presented by Dr. Katie Boland, DVM, Ph.D., with guest speakers Dr. Kellie N. Smith, Ph.D. and Dr. Theodore Scott Nowicki, M.D., Ph.D. to learn about:

• The principles behind the immunoSEQ Technology (Dr. Boland)
• Using immunoSEQ in the solid tumor setting (Dr. Smith)
• Addressing epigenetic suppression and optimizing therapies with immunosequencing (Dr. Nowicki)

Oncocyte

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
6:30-8 p.m.
Independence Ballroom, Marriott Marquis

DetermalO: A Novel Predictive Biomarker that Assesses the Tumor Microenvironment to Identify Responders to Immunotherapy. RCT Clinical Trial Data Demonstrating Significantly Improved Outcomes in Biomarker Positive Population

Speakers: Michael Hurwitz, Jason Porter, Naoto Ueno, Gregory Vidal

Description: As immune checkpoint inhibitors become more prevalent across many cancer types, there is a need for a better biomarker to better predict response and ensure the right patient is receiving the right therapy.  During our discussion, we will highlight new developments in the immunotherapy treatment landscape and the role of predictive biomarkers to accurately select therapy. We will present data generated by DetermaIO™ in over 900 patients across multiple tumor types (NSCLC, TNBC, bladder and kidney cancer) that demonstrated the test’s ability to consistently identify both responders and non-responders to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies, as well as identify potential responders missed by existing biomarkers. A panel Q&A and interactive discussion will focus on the applications of DetermaIO in the clinical setting and in next-generation IO biopharma clinical trials.  Please join us for dinner and an exciting discussion on the future of predictive biomarkers for immunotherapy.

VIRTUAL SYMPOSIA

Friday, Nov. 12
OncoSec

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
7 a.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

Updated Clinical Data from KEYNOTE-695

TAVO (IL-12) Intralesional Therapy Durable Responses in PD-1 Progressing Advanced Melanoma: Clinical Significance and Practicality of the Data

NanoString Technologies

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
1-1:30 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

Quantifying T-cell receptor diversity via expression analysis

T-cell receptor (TCR) gene segments are comprised of numerous discontinuous coding segments that somatically rearrange to form the TCR gene during the development of a T cell. The TCR repertoire is highly diverse and estimated to exceed 10⁶ sequences in humans.  Clonal expansion of T cell populations can be observed in physiological T-cell responses and in pathology, e.g., T-cell lymphoma, and are characterised by a loss of TCR clonality and emergence of dominant TCR clonotypes. Assessment of T-cell clonality as a biomarker of T-cell malignancy or an inflammatory response can be challenging. By directly quantifying the expression of each individual TCR variable region, the NanoString nCounter® Analysis System can provide insight on TCR diversity without sequence information of the clonotypes. In this workshop, you learn about the new nCounter TCR Diversity Gene Expression Panel as well as a case study on the use of the panel for clinical research.

MedscapeLIVE!

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Roulette: The Past, Present, and Future of HCC Management

The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is expanding into new settings for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These advances are impacting treatment selection and sequencing of both targeted therapies and ICIs for patients with this condition. 

In this exciting event, a panel of expert clinicians will discuss the optimal integration of clinical trial data on ICIs into clinical practice in an effort to improve knowledge on strategies to implement ICIs in their new settings and maximize patient outcomes. 

Personalis, Inc.

Friday, Nov. 12, 2021
1:30-2 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

Leveraging comprehensive genomic data for diagnostic capabilities and composite biomarker discovery in immunotherapy

• To enable the identification of composite biomarkers that combine tumor- and immune-related information from both DNA and RNA, we have developed the Personalis NeXT platform.
• By utilizing the expansive feature set, individual analytes can be combined to construct composite biomarker scores that correlate with immunotherapy response.
• In a cohort of 51 late-stage melanoma patients, the integration of neoantigen burden, HLA LOH, and APM mutational data formed a neoantigen-based composite neoantigen (NEOPS) that more accurately predicted response to checkpoint blockade than other markers such as TMB.
• The platform has been analytically validated and optimized for use with limited FFPE tissue samples, making it ideal for both research and clinical applications.

Saturday, Nov. 13
Charles River Laboratories 

Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021
1-2 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

In vitro pharmacology and safety for anti-HER2-CAR-T cell therapy IND enabling studies

Lunaphore Technologies

Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021
1:30-2 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Platform

The morpho-molecular features of COVID-19 placentitis: A high dimensional, multi-omic approach

Speakers: Dr Matthew Pugh, Dr Eanna Fennell, Mr Kelly Hunter – University of Birmingham
ABSTRACT:

Background: A proportion of maternal COVID-19 infections are complicated by COVID-19 placentitis, leading to intra-uterine death. Little is known about the processes that drive this devastating condition.

Aim: Describe the inflammatory response in COVID-19 placentitis using complimentary multi-omic approaches.

Methods: FFPE tissue from 13 cases of maternal COVID-19 infection and 11 control placentas underwent multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) (30 markers) on the Lunaphore COMET platform. Transcriptomic profiling by in-situ hybridisation (ISH) and bulk gene expression sequencing (GES) was also performed.

Results: Direct SARS-CoV-2 infection of the trophoblast was demonstrated in 6/13 cases by mIHC (spike+, nucleocapsid+) and confirmed by ISH and GES. SARS-CoV-2+ cases show a histiocytic (CD68) intervillous infiltrate with associated T-cells (CD3+). GES showed upregulation of CXCL10 and interferon pathways. CXCL10 expression was demonstrated in histiocytes on mIHC.

Conclusion: COVID-19 placentitis is characterised by direct infection of the villous trophoblast, histiocytic intervillousitis and associated CXCL10 /interferon mediated inflammation