"Memorial Sloan- Kettering is one of the world's premier cancer centers with deep scientific and clinical understanding of hematologic cancers and a commitment to driving a new genomic paradigm of individualized cancer care," Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and CEO of Foundation Medicine, said in a press release about the partnership. "Our approach is to collaborate with leaders like Memorial Sloan-Kettering across all areas of clinical oncology and cancer genomics and seek partners who are equally committed to the changing paradigm of cancer care. This is the ideal partnership to support the development of our new product for patients with hematologic malignancies."

 

The new test is being developed through the use of RNA sequencing and DNA sequencing in order to better enable identification of unique genes and classes of genome alternations that are linked to hematologic malignancies. This new test will allow physicians to match genetic alterations with targeted treatment plans that may fit each patient's genomic profile.

 

Technology, methods and computational algorithms developed by Foundation Medicine will form the basis of the test, which will be commercialized by Foundation Medicine in the United States and internationally, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering will contribute its clinical and genomic expertise in hematologic malignancies to accelerate development. The test is expected to be commercially available by the end of the year.  

"The development of clinical-grade sequencing is rapidly changing the practice of oncology, enabling us to more precisely understand and target the genomic alterations that drive a patient's individual cancer. We are partnering with Foundation Medicine to develop a best-in-class assay for hematologic cancers because we view achieving this goal as an extension of our mission as a comprehensive cancer center: making it possible for all patients to be treated with the therapy that is matched with their individual cancer," Craig B. Thompson, M.D., president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, commented in a statement.  

 

The new test will complement and be similar to Foundation Medicine's first product, FoundationOne, a fully informative genomic profile that provides identification of a patient's individual molecular alterations for easier matching with appropriate therapies and clinical trials. The assay is geared toward solid tumors and was launched last year.  

 

 

SOURCE: Foundation Medicine press release