Pharma Services

Measure how live tumor tissue responds to your compound 

Oncology treatment development programs rely significantly on genomic profiling and static biomarkers. While useful, these tools don’t capture the full, nuanced picture of tumor biology. elive™, a functional precision medicine platform, measures immune response in live tumor tissue following treatment, providing functional insights to validate MOAs, prioritize translational work, and optimize trial design. 

Applications across the clinical development continuum

Translational Development
  • Validate MOA and pathway engagement in intact human tumors 

  • Confirm target biology in relevant indications 

  • Prioritize single agents and rational combinations 

  • Interrogate resistance mechanisms 

  • De-risk early clinical development with human PD data
     

Precision Medicine
  • Generate functional response data beyond genomics

  • Link cytokine output and immune phenotype to molecular features

  • Define responder vs. non-responder signatures

  • Refine predictive biomarker and enrichment strategies

  • Build regulatory data package 

Clinical Trials
  • Develop a functionally designed program 

  • Inform inclusion/exclusion and cohort expansion decisions 
    Support adaptive trial design with functional PD readouts 

  • Differentiate trials in competitive indications 

  • Enable functional data-driven decisions

elive is modality-agnostic and supports functional evaluation across a diverse range of therapeutic classes, including both monotherapies and combination regimens. The platform can be applied to small molecules, existing therapies, and other emerging modalities. For proof-of-concept projects with new pharma partners, Elephas can coordinate access to live tumor specimens through our clinical partner sites. 

Real-time ICI response measurement from live tumor tissue

The ability to measure immune response prior to therapy initiation is transformative. Add functional profiling to your treatment development program with elive. 

The platform:

  • Uses a live core needle biopsy
  • Relies on proprietary technology to maintain the tumor microenvironment and address tumor heterogeneity
  • Detects T-cell response to ICI treatment
  • Uses sequential treatment to replicate combination treatment
  • Provides a functional layer of data and insights to complement your clinical development. 

 

What's new

Evaluation of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies ex vivo in live tumor fragments from core biopsies and resections accurately predicts response in the clinic
Poster presented at AACR D3 2026

This poster presents data from mouse xenografts derived from the KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2, showing decreased cell viability following ex vivo treatment with three separate KRAS inhibitors. A follow-up study using live tumor fragments from a human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma specimen showed similar cytotoxic effects, highlighting the platform's potential to functionally evaluate targeted therapies in patient-derived tumor tissue.

Elephas Biosciences and Tes Pharma Collaborate to Advance Translational Research for Lung Cancer Therapy
Press release from Sept 24, 2026

Tes Pharma will use elive to functionally evaluate response to TES-4207 in live tumor fragments as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Characterization of αPD-1, αCTLA-4, and αLAG-3 as mono and combination therapy in live tumor fragments using an ex vivo cytokine profiling platform
Poster presented at AACR IO 2026

This poster characterizes cytokine responses to single agent and combination immune checkpoint inhibitors beyond PD-1 in live tumor fragments generated from resections and core needle biopsies, revealing that unique cytokine signatures are observed for individual tumor specimens, regardless of treatment condition.

A live tumor fragment platform to assess immunotherapy response in core needle biopsies while addressing challenges of tumor heterogeneity
Platform paper published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, January 2026

We describe our ex vivo platform for assessing immune checkpoint inhibitor response using live tumor tissue while preserving large areas of the contiguous native tumor microenvironment.  Using a sequential treatment strategy, we mitigate tumor heterogeneity challenges exacerbated when tissue amount is scarce.

Open_Screen_On_&_No_Glow

elive is available for use in your lab through a straightforward access model:

  • License the elive™ Edge instrument
  • Purchase consumables (blades, elive™ Gel) per sample
  • Annual license for elive Method per partner 

Leverage our lab to run a cytokine profiling study designed for your objectives and see the value elive offers to your program.

Ready to get into the details?

If you're interested in learning about how elive™ could accelerate your IO pipeline, fill out the form below and we'll be in touch.

Pooja Advani
Pooja Advani,
MBBD, MD

Medical Oncologist
Breast Cancer
Mayo Clinic
David Braun
David Braun,
MD, PhD

Medical Oncologist
Kidney Cancer
Yale School of Medicine
Christian Capitini
Christian Capitini, MD
Director
UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center
Kevin Eliceiri
Kevin Eliceiri, PhD
Professor of Microscopy, Medical Imaging & AI
The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Janis_Marie_Taube
Janis Marie Taube,
MD, MSc

Pathologist
Melanoma
Johns Hopkins Medicine