Navinci’s Multiplex isPLA, Omni, Featured in Nature Communications Publication from the ASTEROID Phase 1 Clinical Trial

Uppsala, Sweden – October 22, 2026 – Navinci is pleased to highlight the publication of a new study in Nature Communications reporting findings from the ASTEROID Phase 1 clinical trial, which investigated the IAP antagonist tolinapant in patients with advanced solid tumors.

The study demonstrates how comprehensive translational analyses can provide valuable insight into treatment mechanisms and patient response. The researchers showed that inhibition of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) with tolinapant activates immunogenic cell death pathways and enhances tumor sensitivity to immunotherapy. The work also identified biomarkers that may help guide patient selection for future therapeutic strategies.

As part of the translational research programme, investigators applied Navinci’s novel multiplex in situ Proximity Ligation Assay (isPLA), Omni, technology to patient tumor samples. The ability to visualize multiple protein interactions and signaling events directly within their spatial tissue context enabled researchers to investigate functional biological changes associated with treatment response and resistance.

The publication reflects a highly collaborative effort between clinical researchers, translational scientists, technology partners, and, most importantly, the patients and families who participated in the ASTEROID trial. The work was led by researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, with support from Breast Cancer Now and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden and the ICR.

A leader of the trial, Professor Pascal Meier from The Institute of Cancer Research, said “Navinci’s isPLA technology has given us the ability to visualize interactions between cleaved caspase-8, RIPK1 and other key proteins involved in necroptosis directly in patient tissue. Being able to see these molecular interactions in their native tissue context is a real advantage, opening up new opportunities to understand cell death mechanisms in human disease.”

The study highlights the growing importance of spatially resolved functional biomarker analysis in clinical research. While traditional approaches often focus on protein expression alone, technologies capable of measuring protein activity and interactions directly in tissue, such as Navinci’s, can provide a deeper understanding of the biological processes that influence therapeutic response.

The application of multiplex isPLA in this study demonstrates how spatial interactomics approaches can support translational and clinical research and biomarker discovery by revealing functional signaling networks within the tumor microenvironment. Such insights may contribute to the development of more precise, biomarker-driven treatment strategies in oncology.

Read the full publication on Nature Communications here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77552-7