Four of the world’s most prominent oncology pharma firms have formed a new consortium dedicated to an ambitious goal: making it easier for cancer patients to get access to genomic testing and other precision diagnostics on a global scale. The Precision Cancer Consortium (PCC), which announced its formation on April 12, was founded by Roche, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Bayer.

The PCC & Its Workstreams

“With cancer, the earlier patients are diagnosed and begin treatment, the better their outcomes tend to be,” noted Espen Walker of Roche, who will serve as PCC chair, in a statement. “Precision diagnostics, including comprehensive genomic testing, are an important part of developing treatment plans that can help patients.” But while advanced treatment is available to cancer patients, many people don’t go through biomarker testing to ensure they choose the best treatment option. One reason for that is that many are unaware that such testing even exists, according to a press release from the PCC. The PCC will address these barriers across the cancer ecosystem with the objective of improving outcomes for patients. Specifically, it will pursue two sets of initiatives to boost biomarker testing:

• Workstream 1 will seek to increase awareness of the value of genomic testing among healthcare systems, providers, patients, and other stakeholders while working to remove barriers to such testing; and
• Workstream 2 will pursue the objective of improving access to comprehensive genomic testing in clinical trials and routine care.

The group says it won’t promote or endorse therapeutic or diagnostic products and services and is open to additional members from the biotech and pharmaceutical communities. Here’s a summary of some of the other key strategic diagnostic deals announced in April 2022:

Strategic Alliances, Partnerships, & Collaborations

Distribution, Sales, & Marketing Agreements

Licenses

Government Contracts