CULVER CITY, Calif. & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NantHealth, Inc., (Nasdaq: NH), a leading next-generation, evidence-based, personalized healthcare company, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive reseller agreement for GPS Cancer advanced molecular analysis with Lunatus, a company focused on linking international healthcare companies and regional healthcare professionals in Arabian Gulf and Middle East markets. The molecular tests will help guide the decisions made by oncologists located in the Middle East regarding a patient’s treatment strategy, including choice of standard chemotherapy.
"It is estimated that total healthcare spending in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will reach $60 billion (US dollars) in 2025, up from $12 billion (US dollars) today[1],” said Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, CEO of NantHealth. “As a key player in the field of healthcare services and a pioneer in personalized medicine and molecular testing in the Middle East, we’re excited to partner with Lunatus to help relieve some of this financial burden by supplying community oncologists with best-in-class tools that will help to make more informed treatment decisions for cancer patients at the initial point of care. This specific region is the only one in the world that sees so much growth in demand for healthcare treatment and bringing GPS Cancer to the communities is an opportunity to offer patients a new standard of care.”
Since becoming commercially available in June 2016, GPS Cancer has established its global footprint in not only the European market, but now in the Middle East. This expansion adds to the growing set of payers, providers, and a Fortune 50 company that have already committed to covering or using the comprehensive molecular profile. Under the terms of the agreement, Lunatus will have exclusive rights to distribute GPS Cancer to physicians in the Middle East, including the following countries: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and Lebanon. The test, which integrates quantitative proteomics with whole genome (DNA) and transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, is the only integrated comprehensive molecular test of its type conducted in CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories. It provides oncologists with a comprehensive molecular profile of a patient’s cancer to inform personalized treatment strategies. As a cornerstone of the Cancer MoonShot 2020 program, GPS Cancer provides key insights based on the unique biology of a patient’s tumor—from the DNA to the RNA to the protein. This rich information helps doctors build more effective treatment plans based on FDA-approved drugs and active clinical trials, while enabling cancer researchers to design new clinical trials that harness the potential of the immune system.
"As the GCC states are expected to see increases of cancer rates– around 150-200 percent increase by the year 2030 – our mission is to make a positive impact on those diagnosed with cancer in the hopes of dramatically reducing these devastating expectations of our region,” said Dr. Lina Kouatly, President and CEO of Lunatus. “We have an impressive track record of building brands for healthcare services and products in the Middle East and through our broad network with government and regulatory entities, local oncology communities, hospitals, clinics and pathology labs, influencers, as well as research communities, we are so pleased to be the first to offer our partners a one-of-a-kind test that will ultimately help advance personalized cancer care.”
Unlike other tests on the market, GPS Cancer sequences the whole genome of 20,000+ genes and three billion base pairs and matches against the patient’s normal DNA, providing oncologists with an expansive view of alterations to inform personalized treatment strategies. GPS Cancer extends from genomics to proteomics not only through analysis of RNA, but also utilizes quantitative proteomics through mass spectrometry to measure the amounts of clinically relevant proteins that are the targets of or essential for various therapeutics. This clinically relevant information helps oncologists to better understand how patients may potentially respond to chemotherapies, targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
About NantHealth, Inc.
NantHealth, Inc., a member of the
NantWorks ecosystem of companies, is a next-generation, evidence-based,
personalized healthcare company enabling improved patient outcomes and
more effective treatment decisions for critical illnesses. NantHealth’s
unique systems-based approach to personalized healthcare applies novel
diagnostics tailored to the specific molecular profiles of patient
tissues and integrates this molecular data in a clinical setting with
large-scale, real-time biometric signal and phenotypic data to track
patient outcomes and deliver precision medicine. For nearly a decade,
NantHealth has developed an adaptive learning system, CLINICS, which
includes its unique software, middleware and hardware systems
infrastructure that collects, indexes, analyzes and interprets billions
of molecular, clinical, operational and financial data points derived
from novel and traditional sources, continuously improves
decision-making and further optimizes our clinical pathways and decision
algorithms over time. For more information please visit www.nanthealth.com and
follow Dr. Soon-Shiong on Twitter @DrPatSoonShiong.
About GPS Cancer™
GPS Cancer™ is a comprehensive molecular
profile available through NantHealth. GPS Cancer integrates whole genome
(DNA) sequencing, whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, and quantitative
proteomics through mass spectrometry, providing oncologists with
unprecedented insight into the molecular signature of each patient’s
cancer to inform personalized treatment strategies. GPS Cancer profiling
is conducted in CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories, and is a
key enabler for Cancer MoonShot 2020, the world’s most comprehensive
cancer collaborative initiative seeking to accelerate the potential of
combination immunotherapy as the next generation standard of care in
cancer patients. For more information, visit www.gpscancer.com
and www.cancermoonshot2020.org.
About Lunatus
Since its inception in 2003, Lunatus has
established a successful track record in introducing, building and
developing profitable brands in the fields of pharmaceutical, RX & OTC,
aesthetic medicine & skin care, consumer health and medical equipment
for international healthcare companies in the Arabian Gulf and Middle
East markets. The Company’s mission is to provide value added marketing
and operational services tailored to the versatility of the region.
Lunatus partners with wide array of healthcare companies and
corresponding brands including Valeant, Mylan, Merz Aesthetics, Omega
Pharma, SoftFil, Opko Lab, Lumenis, BSN Medical, Ferris MFG. Corp. and
IPRAD Laboratories. For more details about Lunatus Marketing and
Consulting please visit www.lunatus-me.com or
email lina@lunatus-me.com.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among
others, statements regarding the capabilities and anticipated utility of
our GPS Cancer, including predicting patient response and resistance to
therapeutics, enabling diagnoses by physicians and accelerating efforts
to bring novel combinations of therapeutic agents to cancer patients, as
well as our contribution to the Cancer 2020 initiative. Forward-looking
statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated
results. Factors that may cause future results to differ materially from
management’s current expectations include, among other things, that GPS
Cancer may not perform as anticipated, that sufficient physicians may
not adopt GPS Cancer to assist their diagnoses or that healthcare payers
may not provide reimbursement for GPS Cancer as expected. Our business
is subject to numerous additional risks and uncertainties, including,
among others, risks relating to market acceptance of our products; our
ability to successfully launch new products and applications;
competition; our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities; our
planned sales, marketing, and research and development activities;
unanticipated increases in costs or expenses; and risks associated with
international operations. Information on these and additional risks,
uncertainties, and other information affecting our business and
operating results can be found in our existing and future filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update
these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.