CULVER CITY, Calif. & SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NantHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ-GS: NH), a next-generation, evidence-based, personalized healthcare company, announced that it has entered into an agreement for GPS Cancer, the leading proteogenomic molecular test that helps guide treatment strategies including choice of standard chemotherapy for oncologists, with Asia Genomics, a leading provider and distributor of molecular testing services and key player in the field of personalized medicine in Southeast Asia.
It is estimated that there were over 770,000 new cases of cancer and 527,000 cancer deaths in the Southeast Asia region in 2012. By 2030, the number of new cases is expected to rise by 70 percent, reaching 1.3 million people. More than 75 percent of people with cancer in Southeast Asian countries experience death or financial catastrophe within a year of diagnosis. With little evidence available to articulate the economic impact of cancer on low and middle-income households, and its relationship to treatment and health outcomes, a profound lack of understanding surrounds the burden of the disease. [1]
“While cancer incidences continue to increase worldwide, GPS cancer is leading the evolution from a ‘one size fit all’ treatment approach to the era of proteogenomics and quantitative proteomics,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder and CEO of NantHealth. “Through the exclusive partnership with Asia Genomics, GPS cancer is offered for the first time in Southeast Asia. This is an important step in the global expansion of GPS cancer and we’re excited to be bringing a much needed alternative to transform the way that cancer is treated in this region.”
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.
Under the terms of the agreement, Asia Genomics will distribute GPS Cancer to physicians in the following Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Asia Genomics is the first company to build comprehensive distribution channels in Southeast Asia for personalized medicine testing services. The company has also developed a broad network with government and regulatory entities, local oncology communities, hospitals, clinics and pathology labs, influencers, as well as research communities to advance local healthcare service offerings.
“GPS cancer is a revolutionary test that can help identify treatment options based on patients’ unique biology profile,” said Dr. Wong Mun Yew, CEO at Asia Genomics. “We’re looking forward to offering patients a new standard of care that will ultimately change the way we diagnose and treat cancer not only in Southeast Asia, but worldwide.”
About Asia Genomics (www.asia-genomics.com)
Asia
Genomics is a leading molecular diagnostics company focused on molecular
biology and genomics to transform the healthcare industry in Asia. The
Company offers tests that are evidence-based, accepted and endorsed by
doctors internationally. Based in Singapore, with operations in
Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and
Thailand, Asia Genomics has two laboratories, and a total market reach
of more than 1.5 billion people.
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.
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.
About GPS Cancer™
GPS Cancer™ is a unique, proteogenomic
molecular scan available through NantHealth. GPS Cancer integrates whole
genome (DNA) sequencing, whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, and
quantitative proteomics through mass spectrometry, providing oncologists
with a comprehensive molecular profile of a patient's cancer and an
assessment of protein pathway function to inform personalized treatment
strategies. GPS Cancer scanning is conducted in CLIA-certified and
CAP-accredited laboratories, and is a key enabler for Cancer
Breakthroughs 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.
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, 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.
[1] http://partnerships.ifpma.org/partnership/the-action-study-understanding-the-impact-of-cancer-in-southeast-asia
