Two contract research organizations (CROs) with expertise in molecular testing, MolecularMD Corporation and Selah Genomics, Inc., will utilize the new Oncomine Cancer Research Panel, which runs on Life Technologies’ Ion Torrent sequencing instruments, for clinical trial analyses and design.
MolecularMD Corporation develops and commercializes specialty molecular diagnostics for oncology applications across the entire oncology pharmaceutical development life cycle. Selah Genomics is a clinical diagnostics specialist supporting early-stage drug development, clinical trials, and regulatory processes in the pharmaceutical industry and helping clinicians and healthcare providers to treat and monitor patients.
This comprehensive multi-biomarker assay allows concurrent analyses of DNA and RNA in one workflow, allowing researchers to simultaneously detect all four classes of tumor-driving alterations: single nucleotide variants, copy number variants, tumor suppressors, and gene fusions. As CROs and their pharma partners validate their use of this new tool, the potential exists for patients to be more effectively enrolled into clinical trials and study designs made easier. The panel enables simultaneous testing of 160 known cancer genes. It employs Life Technologies’ Ion AmpliSeq chemistry, which requires a very small amount of starting material—as little as 10 nanograms of DNA or RNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.
“We see the Oncomine Cancer Research Panel as a valuable tool in advancing MolecularMD's comprehensive companion diagnostics program, and personalized medicine in general,” states Glenn Miller, Executive Vice President and CTO of MolecularMD. The panel makes an excellent addition to the broad menu of services we offer to the global biopharmaceutical community.”
“Limited amounts of biopsy tissue are a key challenge in oncology,” says Michael Bolick, CEO of Selah Genomics. “Concurrent analysis of DNA and RNA will reduce the need for repeat biopsy and expand the availability of archived specimens needed for biomarker discovery.” Learn more about Ion Torrent.
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