Advanced NGS Partnership Paves Way for More Accessible Personalized Medicine in Cancer

New next generation sequencing (NGS) test panels have been developed to provide more affordable advanced NGS testing that can help doctors choose the most effective cancer treatments based on tumor type and an individual’s genetic profile, an important step towards making personalized medicine broadly accessible. First launch is of a NGS colon cancer test panel.

Selah Genomics, an EKF Diagnostics (Cardiff, UK) subsidiary, has launched “PrecisionPath” in partnership with Greenville Health Systems (GHS; Greenville, SC, USA) a leading community-based cancer institute. Launch of the first panel, PrecisionPath Colon, follows a successful one year trial with GHS, and will be the first commercial NGS panel molecular test for invasive colon cancer priced under USD 1,000 with a target turnaround time of less than 7 days per reportable result.

PrecisionPath Colon can be used to identify the specific growth drivers for colon cancer in an individual based on their genetic make-up. The test is also used to identify the cancer’s specific susceptibility to available treatments based on tumor type. PrecisionPath will thereby help oncologists select the most effective available therapy throughout treatment.

PrecisionPath Colon focuses on key actionable biomarkers that provide maximum clinical utility at a more affordable cost. Oncologists can simply collect appropriate tumor samples and ship them to Selah for analysis. Selah will extract the tumor tissue DNA, then profile at GHS’s Institute for Translational Oncology Research (GHS ITOR; Greenville, SC, USA) using leading-edge Ion Torrent NGS.

A clear concise report, provided to the oncologist via Selah’s secure web portal, differentiates between genes with proven clinical utility and others under clinical trial investigation. As the body of evidence for clinical utility grows, reports will be updated accordingly, providing doctors with a means to routinely integrate genomic analysis into the everyday care of cancer patients.

Initially PrecisionPath Colon will be available across GHS’s oncology treatment centers. EKF will next expand the service throughout the US, targeting oncologists and pathologists treating patients with invasive colorectal cancer. EKF plans to offer PrecisionPath panels for additional indications, including lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, beginning in late 2015.

"The launch of PrecisionPath Colon, at a price under USD 1,000 coupled with a 7 day turnaround time, demonstrates EKF’s commitment to providing affordable access to world-class diagnostic testing,” said Julian Baines, CEO, EKF. Jeffrey Edenfield, MD, medical director of GHS ITOR, added, “We are excited by the opportunity to actively work with Selah to help standardize the availability of molecular medicine. Not everyone has a major academic cancer institute in their back yard, but everyone deserves access to a precise diagnosis and targeted treatment options.”

EKF and GHS’ partnership strengthens an already successful relationship, which began in March 2012 with the formation of Selah’s Clinical Genomics Centre at GHS. PrecisionPath has been developed in close association with leading cancer specialists from the initial piloting program at GHS ITOR in May 2013 until its commercial launch in May 2015. This partnership exists alongside the 18 month collaboration announced on 2 March 2015, partly funded by Becton Dickinson and Company and brings together Selah’s NGS technology and DecisionQ artificial intelligence-based decision support algorithms.

Related Links:
EKF Diagnostics
Selah Genomics
Greenville Health Systems – Institute for Translational Oncology Research