CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (Lurie Cancer Center) and the Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI) today announced the initiation of a new clinical translation program with Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) designed to assist in the development of oncology therapeutics and further expand the clinical utility of Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic profiling technologies.
The Lurie Cancer Center and NMDTI expect to conduct a broad range of clinical translation studies with Foundation Medicine that will build on their existing relationship focused on areas including individualized patient care, investigational therapeutics predicated on matching of genomic profiles with cognate agents, and fundamental cancer biology in both pre-clinical models and patient-derived samples.
“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,” stated Leonidas C. Platanias, M.D., Ph.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.”
“Our Lurie Cancer Center and Northwestern Medicine communities are focused on delivering personalized therapies for patients with cancer, an approach that utilizes advanced molecular technologies, like those from Foundation Medicine, to match patients with targeted treatments that optimize chances for response,” added Francis J. Giles, M.D., Director of the NMDTI and Deputy Director of the Lurie Cancer Center. “Already a dynamic ally, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Foundation Medicine through this new translational program, which furthers our efforts to establish Northwestern and the Lurie Cancer Center as a global leader in the delivery of personalized cancer care.”
Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic profiles, FoundationOne® and FoundationOne® Heme, deliver clinically relevant information in the understanding of cancer biology into the clinical setting. Foundation Medicine is dedicated to improving cancer care and driving the field of cancer genomics forward through collaborations that leverage Foundation Medicine’s technical expertise as well as its large and growing knowledgebase of molecular information.
“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., chief medical officer, Foundation Medicine. “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.”
About the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI)
The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and NMDTI have launched a discipline-defining research program devoted to uniting and expanding their investment in the field of developmental therapeutics. This field creates a continuous synergistic loop linking preclinical basic science breakthroughs to the use of novel approaches to prevent cancer, to better predict its causes and behavior, and to develop better treatments for patients who suffer from cancer. Today, the Lurie Cancer Center is one of only 41 NCI-designated "Comprehensive" cancer centers in the nation. In addition, the Lurie Cancer Center is a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of 25 of the world's leading cancer centers dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer and part of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, a network of academic institutions working to together on highly translational clinical trials using the expertise of Big Ten universities. The Lurie Cancer Center is affiliated with four leading teaching hospitals in Chicago — Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago , the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and the Jesse Brown Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, treating more than 10,000 new patients with cancer each year.
The Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI) provides the infrastructure, expertise, and people to accelerate the developmental therapeutics process. With dedicated patient care facilities, experienced physician scientists, and specialized advanced practice providers, pharmacists, and allied staff, NMDTI brings a large external pipeline of investigational agents to our patients while accelerating the development of Northwestern University’s internal pipeline of novel therapies. The NMDTI Developmental Therapeutics Fellowship, supported by the Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, focuses on nurturing physician scientists whose career is dedicated to curing cancer.
About Foundation Medicine
Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: FMI) is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient's unique cancer. The company's clinical assays, FoundationOne for solid tumors and FoundationOne Heme for hematologic malignancies, sarcomas and pediatric cancers, provide a fully informative genomic profile to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's cancer and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine's molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit www.FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).
About FoundationOne®
FoundationOne is a fully informative genomic profile for solid tumors used by oncologists to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's tumor and match those alterations with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Using next-generation sequencing in routine cancer specimens, FoundationOne interrogates all genes somatically altered in human cancers that are validated targets for therapy or unambiguous drivers of oncogenesis based on current knowledge. It reveals all classes of genomic alterations including base substitutions, insertions, deletions, copy number alterations and select rearrangements. FoundationOne fits easily into the clinical workflow of the ordering physician, and test results are provided in an easy-to-interpret report supported by a comprehensive review of published literature. FoundationOne is a laboratory-developed test performed at Foundation Medicine's CLIA-certified lab. Please visit www.FoundationOne.com for more information.
About FoundationOne® Heme
FoundationOne Heme is a fully informative genomic profile for hematologic cancers (leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma), sarcomas and pediatric cancers, designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to guide treatment options for patients based on the genomic profile of their cancer. It is Foundation Medicine’s second clinical product and was developed in collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Using next-generation sequencing in routine cancer specimens, FoundationOne Heme interrogates all genes somatically altered in these cancers that are validated targets for therapy or unambiguous drivers of oncogenesis based on current knowledge. The test employs RNA sequencing in addition to DNA sequencing to simultaneously detect all classes of genomic alterations, including base pair substitutions, insertions and deletions, copy number alterations and rearrangements, and gene fusions (a type of alteration that is a common driver of hematologic malignancies, sarcomas and pediatric cancers). FoundationOne Heme fits easily into the clinical workflow of the ordering physician, and test results are provided in an easy-to-interpret report supported by a comprehensive review of published literature. FoundationOne Heme is a laboratory-developed test performed at Foundation Medicine's CLIA-certified lab. Please visit www.FoundationOne.com for more information.
Foundation Medicine® and FoundationOne® are registered trademarks of Foundation Medicine, Inc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the initiation and benefits of a new translational research program and collaboration with Northwestern and the Lurie Cancer Center, the benefits of anticipated research studies to be conducted, and the ability of molecular information to improve cancer care for patients. All such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the risks that the new translational research program and collaboration may not generate adequate molecular information; and the risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Foundation Medicine's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other risks detailed in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may be realized. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Foundation Medicine undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
