BOULDER, Colo., March 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biodesix, Inc. (Boulder, CO, USA) and Progenetics LTD (Tel Aviv, Israel) announced today that they have entered into an international agreement where Progenetics will market and distribute kits for Biodesix’s GeneStrat ® and VeriStrat ® liquid biopsy tests for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Both tests are now available for clinical use in Israel.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...fe23779d50
“With the recent addition of ROS1 and RET rearrangements to the GeneStrat liquid biopsy test, it is now the clear choice for providing physicians with highly sensitive and clinically actionable genomic information. Through its industry-leading 72-hour turnaround time, the test can also accelerate time to treatment,” said Dr. Yoav Manaster, Co-founder and Marketing Manager at Progenetics.
Israel is expected to have nearly 2,700 new lung cancer diagnoses by 2020. This partnership makes the Biodesix Lung Reflex TM testing strategy available in the Middle East for the first time.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. This is the second international agreement that Biodesix has announced this year; the company entered into a collaboration with Beijing-based Bioyong Industries in January.
“With the incidence of lung cancer rising worldwide, and rising most dramatically outside the US, we are seeing great potential to expand the use of our tests into new global markets,” said David Brunel, CEO. “Our centralized testing approach means that Biodesix’s test results are available in 72 hours for Israeli patients, well in advance of the 10-14 average turnaround time for tissue-based testing. We are very happy to be able to offer our tests to cancer patients in Israel through this agreement with Progenetics.”
About the GeneStrat test:
The GeneStrat test is a blood-based genomic test for patients with lung cancer that can inform the use of targeted therapies. The test can deliver results for EGFR sensitizing; EGFR resistance (T790M), KRAS, and BRAF mutations; and EML4-ALK, ROS1 and RET fusion variants. The liquid biopsy test measures circulating tumor DNA and RNA.
About the VeriStrat test:
The VeriStrat ® test is a predictive and prognostic blood-based proteomic test for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The test is used to assess disease aggressiveness by characterizing host response to the tumor, classifying patients as either VeriStrat-Good or VeriStrat-Poor.
GeneStrat, VeriStrat, Biodesix Lung Reflex and Biodesix are registered trademarks of Biodesix, Inc. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
About Biodesix Biodesix ® is a molecular diagnostics company advancing the development of innovative blood tests in oncology to enable precision medicine. Biodesix discovers, develops and commercializes multivariate protein and genomic diagnostic blood tests, including the GeneStrat ® and VeriStrat ® tests, that deliver results within 72 hours. The company is changing the standard of care by providing physicians with diagnostic tests for better therapeutic guidance, more accurate prognosis and enhanced disease monitoring to improve patient outcomes. At the forefront of precision medicine, Biodesix is developing new blood tests to identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapies. In addition to developing novel diagnostics independently, the company partners with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to develop companion diagnostics for use with therapeutic agents.
For more information about Biodesix, please visit www.Biodesix.com .
Contact: Rachel Biederman 720-214-5774 rachel.biederman@biodesix.com
