SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., Oct. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Admera Health (www.admerahealth.com) announced the launch of multiple laboratory developed tests: PGxOnco™, for cancer supportive care, and LiquidGx™, a suite of liquid biopsy based tests for tumor profiling and drug resistance monitoring. Admera initially unveiled these tests on October 27, while at the 2017 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium in San Diego, California. These newly launched products complement Admera Health’s existing tissue based tumor profiling tests.
About PGxOnco™:
Admera Health is now applying its expertise in pharmacogenomics (PGx) within the oncology supportive care space. The PGxOnco™ test includes 50 genes, ~200 variants, and provides recommendations for over 300 drugs via Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS).
“It is not just the tumor that an oncologist needs to worry about. A significant amount of an oncologist’s time is spent managing supportive care issues. PGx, and specifically the PGxOnco™ test, can help guide therapy selection in these efforts. Pain is very common among both current cancer patients and survivors. PGxOnco™ can help predict clinical response to pain management drugs, including opioids. Depression and anxiety also commonly strike cancer sufferers. It’s been well documented that pharmacogenomics can limit trial-and-error and titration prescribing behavior related to psychiatric drugs,” stated Zeil Rosenberg, M.D. VP of Medical Affairs at Admera Health. “Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are also major concerns associated with cancer care; however, there are clinical guidelines supporting the use of PGx testing for CINV treatment. Taking it a step further, there are commonly prescribed chemotherapies that are also affected by PGx. Some of which reach the highest level of evidence according to the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium.”
Drug recommendations include considering alternatives when specific drugs should be avoided, dosage adjustment information when available, use with caution, and normal response expected. The report is divided into sections driven by diagnosis codes, patient’s current medications, therapies commonly associated with cancer supportive care, chemotherapeutics, and other drugs within Admera’s knowledge base that an oncologist may prescribe as they play an increasing role in a patient’s primary care.
“We believe that PGxOnco™ testing can lead to greater efficiencies and cost containment associated with cancer therapy,” stated Brady Millican, VP of Business Development at Admera Health. “Most importantly though, supportive and palliative care can be implemented at any time but if done at diagnosis there is a greater chance of lengthening and improving quality of life. That is why we are already working with partners to demonstrate that PGxOnco™ can easily be implemented into the practice workflow.”
About LiquidGx™
Admera Health has developed a proprietary technique to enrich circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for the purposes of minimally-invasive liquid biopsies. This technique will be deployed via both qPCR and a NGS panel to interrogate four proto‑oncogenes commonly mutated across several cancer types and 10 proto‑oncogenes associated with lung cancer, respectively. LiquidGx™ qPCR allows for the genotyping of ALK, BRAF, EGFR, and KRAS to either be done individually or together, including genomic alterations associated with resistance to targeted cancer drugs, such as EGFR T790M and C797S. Other core features include a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.01% and a turnaround-time of three to five business days. The LiquidGxLung™ NGS panel includes AKT1, BRAF, ERBB2, MET, RET, ALK, EGFR, KRAS, PIK3CA, and ROS1, covering >110 variants with an LOD of 0.1% and the ability to detect novel fusions.
“Both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network have publicly stated their support for the use of liquid biopsy when tissue biopsy is not feasible or safe,” said Guanghui Hu, PhD, President and CEO of Admera Health. “Other advantages of LiquidGx testing are the ability to monitor disease progression and track the response to therapy, including the development of additional mutations associated with therapy resistance. With our quick turnaround-time and superior LOD, we can measure changes at the ctDNA level before they would be detected via imaging.”
About Admera Health
Admera Health is a CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited advanced molecular diagnostics company focused on personalized medicine, non-invasive cancer testing, digital health, and providing research use only services. Research and development efforts are dedicated to developing cutting-edge diagnostics that span the continuum of care. Utilizing next generation technology platforms and advanced bioinformatics, Admera Health seeks to redefine disease screening, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and management through its innovative, personalized solutions. It is our mission to deliver transformative, valuable solutions for patients, physicians, and clinical researchers. We are committed to improving the health and well-being of our global community through the direct delivery of personalized, medically actionable results.
Admera Health Contact: Brady Millican, VP Business Development 908-222-0533 brady.millican@admerahealth.com
