Cambridge, Mass. – Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), a national network of comprehensive cancer care hospitals and outpatient care centers, and Foundation Medicine, a leading molecular insights company that recently received FDA approval for its FoundationOne CDx™ genomic test, today announced the launch of a collaborative educational campaign designed to heighten awareness of the promise of precision medicine and the role that advanced genomic testing plays in helping identify treatments best suited for individual patients. CTCA® is an early adopter of FoundationOne CDx which became commercially available in March, and is:
- The first and only FDA-approved broad companion diagnostic test with Medicare coverage for qualifying patients across all solid tumors;
- A comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) test that helps inform targeted and immunotherapy decisions, with insights specific to each patient’s cancer;
- A tool for physicians to identify opportunities for patients to participate in therapeutic clinical trials; and,
- An FDA-approved platform for biopharma companies developing precision therapeutics.
“As our knowledge and understanding of the genetic makeup of tumors continues to expand, so does our ability to identify more precise treatments,” said Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine & Science at CTCA. “Our partnership with Foundation Medicine and early adoption of FoundationOne CDx reflects our corporate commitment to provide patients with access to the latest advances in precision cancer treatment and deliver the highest-quality care.”
The collaboration brings together CTCA, a nationwide cancer care network committed to delivering precision treatment, and Foundation Medicine, a leader in molecular testing that offers a suite of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) assays that may help identify alterations in an individual’s cancer and matches them with potentially relevant targeted therapies, including immunotherapies.
“Precision medicine, and the move to a more personalized, targeted approach to cancer care, is becoming more ubiquitous over time,” said Vincent Miller, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Foundation Medicine. “It’s essential that every stakeholder in a patient’s care plan—physician, patient and care team—is knowledgeable about the benefits of genomic profiling, and that they can take this approach at the time of diagnosis of advanced disease. We applaud the leadership of CTCA in this area and we’re delighted to collaborate with them on this important educational initiative.”
The campaign launched by CTCA and Foundation Medicine includes specific patient case studies designed to educate the medical community on how CTCA has used Foundation Medicine genomic profiling to help inform treatment plans. The video case studies were produced by the New York Times’ T-Brand Studio, and will be distributed through the New York Times website and in various digital and social media initiatives.
To learn more about genomics and precision cancer treatment, click here. To learn more about genomic testing and FoundationOne, visit FoundationMedicine.com.
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 offers a full suite of comprehensive genomic profiling assays to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's cancer and match them with relevant targeted therapies, immunotherapies 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 FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).
About FoundationOne CDx
FoundationOne CDx is a next generation sequencing based in vitro diagnostic device for detection of substitutions, insertion and deletion alterations (indels), and copy number alterations (CNAs) in 324 genes and select gene rearrangements, as well as genomic signatures including microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB) using DNA isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue specimens. FoundationOne CDx is intended as a companion diagnostic to identify patients who may benefit from treatment with certain targeted therapies in accordance with their approved therapeutic product labeling. Additionally, FoundationOne CDx is intended to provide tumor mutation profiling to be used by qualified health care professionals in accordance with professional guidelines in oncology for patients with solid malignant neoplasms. For a full list of targeted therapies for which FoundationOne CDx is indicated as a companion diagnostic, please visit http://www.foundationmedicine.com/genomic-testing/foundation-one-cdx.