Cambridge, Mass.-based Foundation Medicine has entered into an agreement with two major academic medical providers in Chicago to launch a clinical translation program. Foundation will be working with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI). Both are affiliated with the Northwestern Medicine provider network in Chicago. Foundation, Lurie, and the NMDTI will work to develop new oncology therapeutics, as well as expand Foundation’s genomic profiling capabilities. “We are pleased to be partnering with the Lurie Cancer Center and NMDTI to continue to advance this transformation in cancer care by bringing together our collective expertise, experience, and resources,” said Vincent Miller, M.D., Foundation Medicine’s chief medical officer. “We believe this collaboration will serve to build upon the clinical applications of our products and further expand access to targeted treatment options for patients living with cancer.” Foundation has two assays on the market, FoundationOne and FoundationOne Heme. The FoundationOne test, which is used on patients with solid tumor cancers, seeks out 315 cancer-related genes and introns from 28 other genes that are often rearranged as the result of cancer. The test data can then be used to determine the best course of treatment for […]
Cambridge, Mass.-based Foundation Medicine has entered into an agreement with two major academic medical providers in Chicago to launch a clinical translation program.
Foundation will be working with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI). Both are affiliated with the Northwestern Medicine provider network in Chicago.
Foundation, Lurie, and the NMDTI will work to develop new oncology therapeutics, as well as expand Foundation’s genomic profiling capabilities.
“We are pleased to be partnering with the Lurie Cancer Center and NMDTI to continue to advance this transformation in cancer care by bringing together our collective expertise, experience, and resources,” said Vincent Miller, M.D., Foundation Medicine’s chief medical officer. “We believe this collaboration will serve to build upon the clinical applications of our products and further expand access to targeted treatment options for patients living with cancer.”
Foundation has two assays on the market, FoundationOne and FoundationOne Heme. The FoundationOne test, which is used on patients with solid tumor cancers, seeks out 315 cancer-related genes and introns from 28 other genes that are often rearranged as the result of cancer. The test data can then be used to determine the best course of treatment for the patient. FoundationOne Heme focuses on hematologic and pediatric cancers, as well as sarcomas.
“Foundation Medicine is a pioneer in the use of molecular information to translate cancer biology into improved anti-cancer therapies, better treatment selection, and enhanced care of patients with cancer. Our alliance with them reinforces our leadership in the application of personalized medicine at both the individual patient and research levels,” said Leonidas C. Platanias, M.D., director of the Lurie Cancer Center. “Foundation Medicine has already been instrumental to our rapidly expanding programs that offer patients cancer treatment tailored to the specific genomic alterations that drive their malignancies. This new program reflects our ongoing commitment to being a national leader in the battle to overcome cancer.”
Takeaway: Foundation Medicine is collaborating with an academic medical center with the possibility of improving cancer treatments and potentially expanding its testing portfolio in the future.
