Cedars-Sinai Joins Caris Life Sciences' Precision Oncology Alliance

IRVING, Texas and LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences®, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced today that the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai has become the 33^rd member of its Precision Oncology Alliance™. The Alliance is a collaborative network of leading cancer centers that demonstrates a commitment to precision medicine. These centers work together toward a common goal to advance tumor profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology.

Cedars-Sinai Cancer, nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report, has long-directed its cancer experts toward advancements in cancer treatment options while also maintaining exceptional levels of mindful patient care. The cancer institute's commitment to enhancing the technology available, while also ensuring a compassionate standard of care, has made the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute a consistently top-ranked medical center in patient experience and advanced technologies. In recent years, the cancer institute has made significant investments in the promise of precision medicine, including the launch of several integrated research and implementation programs, and the appointment of Dan Theodorescu, M.D., Ph.D., a renowned cancer clinician and expert in specialized therapeutic discoveries, as director.

"Cedars-Sinai is widely recognized for its integrated oncology program with a focus on unmet patient populations and scientific needs," said Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman of Caris Life Sciences. "We are excited to work with the team at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and look forward to continuing to refine our molecular testing systems and bringing precision medicine to the forefront of cancer care."

Through the Precision Oncology Alliance – powered by Caris – the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute will partner with other notable cancer centers and academic institutions to broaden patient access to precision cancer care, have early access to Caris' Next Generation Profiling™ offerings, and establish evidence-based standards for tumor profiling and molecular testing in oncology. By leveraging the comprehensive genomic and proteomic tumor profiling services available through the Caris Molecular Intelligence® platform, oncologists from the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute will be able to prioritize therapeutic options and determine which clinical trial opportunities may benefit their patients. Additionally, the institute's researchers will partner with other Alliance members to contribute to and publish data and advance collaborative clinical trials.

"The Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute consistently places the individual patient experience at the forefront of its research and care efforts across the more than 60 types of cancer we treat," said Robert A. Figlin, MD, Deputy Director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer and Director of the Division of Hematology Oncology at Cedars-Sinai. "We are pleased to join the Precision Oncology Alliance and to work with Caris Life Sciences and other members to enhance our ability to treat high-risk cancer patient populations and widen the breadth of our research programs."

The Precision Oncology Alliance comprises 33 academic, hospital and community-based cancer institutions, including ten NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. The Alliance now includes over 1,350 physicians, spanning more than 400 locations, who provide services for over 280,000 people with cancer each year. Precision Oncology Alliance members also have access to Caris Pharmatech's oncology trial network, which can help reduce the time it takes to identify and connect appropriate patients with novel targeted cancer therapies in clinical development.

"Partnering with the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute represents another meaningful expansion for Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance as we investigate personalized solutions with Alliance members nationwide," said W. Michael Korn, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Caris Life Sciences. "The institute has fully embraced the role of precision medicine and molecular testing in driving treatment decisions, and the Alliance will benefit from their important research and clinical practice."

Find out more about the Precision Oncology Alliance, powered by Caris, at www.carislifesciences.com/precision-oncology-alliance.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences® is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. The company's suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps physicians and cancer patients make more precise and personalized treatment decisions.

Caris is also advancing precision medicine with Next Generation Profiling™ that combines its innovative service offerings, Caris Molecular Intelligence® and ADAPT Biotargeting System™, with its proprietary artificial intelligence analytics engine, DEAN™, to analyze the whole exome, whole transcriptome and complete cancer proteome. This information, coupled with mature clinical outcomes on thousands of patients, provides unmatched molecular solutions for patients, physicians, payers and biopharmaceutical organizations.

Whole transcriptome sequencing with MI Transcriptome provides the most comprehensive and unique RNA analysis available on the market and covers all 22,000 genes, with an average of 60 million reads per patient, to deliver extremely broad coverage and high resolution into the dynamic nature of the transcriptome. Assessing the whole transcriptome allows us to dig deeper into the RNA universe to uncover and detect fusions, splice variants, and expression changes that provide oncologists with more insight and actionable information when determining treatment plans for patients.

Caris Pharmatech, a pioneer of the original Just-In-Time research system with the largest research-ready oncology network is changing the paradigm from the traditional physician outreach model to a real-time approach where patient identification is completed at the lab and the physician is informed so that the patient can be enrolled days earlier, and remain in the local physician's care, without having to travel to a large central trial site. This fundamentally redefines how pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies identify and rapidly enroll patients in precision oncology trials by combining Caris' highest quality industry leading large-scale molecular profiling services with Pharmatech's on-demand site activation and patient enrollment system.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About Cedars-Sinai
Cedars-Sinai is a national leader in providing high-quality, patient-centered healthcare encompassing primary care as well as specialized medicine and conducting research that leads to lifesaving discoveries and innovations. Since its beginning in 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the healthcare needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, continually setting new standards in quality and innovation in patient care, research, teaching and community service. Today, Cedars-Sinai is widely known for its national leadership in transforming healthcare for the benefit of patients. Cedars-Sinai impacts the future of healthcare globally by developing new approaches to treatment and educating tomorrow's physicians and other health professionals. At the same time, Cedars-Sinai demonstrates a longstanding commitment to strengthening the Los Angeles community through wide-ranging programs that improve the health of its most vulnerable residents.

Caris Life Sciences Media Contact:
Lindsey Bailys
GCI Health
lindsey.bailys@gcihealth.com 
+1-212-798-9884

Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute Media Contact:
Diane Wedner
Senior Communications Specialist, Cedars-Sinai
diane.wedner@cshs.org
Direct: 310-248-6608
Cell: 310-733-8604

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SOURCE Caris Life Sciences