Tailor Bio study validates predictive power of CIN biomarkers for chemotherapy resistance

The study, carried out in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, used Tailor Bio's novel CIN biomarker platform, which identified patients unlikely to respond to platinum-, taxane-, and anthracycline-based treatments using a single genomic test, including from blood-derived DNA. The analysis, based on real-world clinical data from 840 patients with ovarian, breast, prostate, and sarcoma cancers, revealed that patients predicted to be resistant were up to seven times more likely to experience treatment failure.

Despite widespread use, most chemotherapy regimens remain untargeted, lacking precision biomarkers to guide their use. This often results in patients receiving toxic therapies with no clinical benefit. Tailor Bio's platform addresses this unmet need by leveraging CIN signatures to personalise chemotherapy decisions and, longer term, guide development of novel drugs targeting CIN-driven cancers.

"This research validates our belief that CIN signatures can transform the way chemotherapy is prescribed," said Geoff Macintyre, Chief Scientific Officer, Tailor Bio. "Our platform doesn't just identify who might benefit—it pinpoints who won't, helping oncologists avoid ineffective treatments and sparing patients from unnecessary toxicity. It's a critical step toward making chemotherapy not only more targeted, but more tolerable."

CIN, a hallmark of 80% of human cancers, is associated with treatment resistance, tumour aggressiveness, and poor prognosis.² By harnessing these CIN signatures, Tailor Bio's AI-powered platform enables precision oncology at scale.

The company has created a CIN test that is designed for broad clinical adoption, with compatibility across whole-genome sequencing, targeted panels, and cell-free DNA. Its pan-cancer applicability positions it as a foundational technology in the shift toward personalised chemotherapy; bringing precision to widely used, cost-effective generics, and delivering better outcomes for both patients and health systems.

These findings not only mark a significant advance in predicting chemotherapy response but establish the scientific foundation for Tailor Bio's platform to guide development of new targeted therapies for cancers with chromosomal instabilities.

Dr Jason Yip, Chief Executive Officer, Tailor Bio said:

Our mission is to personalise cancer care across the spectrum—from legacy chemotherapies to next-generation targeted therapies. Our platform not only helps clinicians make better treatment decisions today, but also accelerates the development of tomorrow's cancer drugs by enabling patient selection based on CIN biology.

Tailor Bio was spun out of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute following Dr Macintyre's discovery of CIN signature–drug response correlations in ovarian cancer organoids. With key patents now licensed to the company and clinical validation supported by real-world datasets, Tailor Bio has rapidly matured into a platform biotech with global ambitions. Alongside improving chemotherapy treatment, the company is using its platform to develop new targeted therapies specifically for cancers with CIN. The company is now advancing its test through analytical validation and preparing for prospective trials slated for 2026.

The full article is published in Nature Genetics

References:

_{^{1. Sneath Thompson, J, et al. (2025) Predicting resistance to chemotherapy using chromosomal instability signatures. Nature Genetics [ePub ahead of print] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02233-y}}

_{^{2. Bakhoum SF, Landau DA. (2017) Chromosomal instability as a driver of tumour heterogeneity and evolution. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 7(6):a029611. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a029611. [Last accessed: 19 June 2025]}}