Boston, MA and Memphis, TN, May 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inform Genomics, Inc., a privately held company that utilizes a proprietary analytic platform to develop genomic-based, precision medicine products, and Vector Oncology, a leader in the design and delivery of oncology research, today announced that Vector Oncology would serve as the contract research organization (CRO) for Inform Genomics' planned multicenter pivotal study of OnPART™ (Oncology Preferences And Risk of Toxicity). Inform Genomics anticipates enrolling up to 10,000 patients in approximately 130 sites in the United States beginning in the fourth quarter of this year.
Carl de Moor, PhD, Chief Technology Officer at Inform Genomics, said "We were deeply impressed with the Vector team. Their scientific and operational expertise in observational oncology gives us every confidence in a successful collaboration."
"Vector Oncology has an experienced oncology team and offers services, such as a searchable database of patient outcomes and a patient engagement and PRO data collection platform that made them the right fit to support our pivotal OnPART™ study. We are excited to get started," added Ed Rubenstein, MD, President and CEO of Inform Genomics.
OnPART™ has completed its first phase of development and has demonstrated it can predict side-effect risk with a high degree of precision and accuracy. In addition, it has shown biologic validity for each of the predictive networks. In this next phase of development, Inform Genomics will enroll patients with breast, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancer that are undergoing treatment with standard chemotherapy regimens.
"Vector Oncology is very excited to collaborate with Inform Genomics on this trial to validate a diagnostic platform that will significantly improve outcomes for patients receiving many of the most common chemotherapy regimens," reported Dr. Lee Schwartzberg, President and CMO of Vector. "A prior study we conducted with Inform Genomics confirmed the scientific assumptions of their approach, and we look forward to completing this study validating the platform."
About Inform Genomics
Inform Genomics, Inc. is a privately held company that utilizes a proprietary analytic platform to develop genomic-based, precision medicine products that are designed to predict, with a high degree of accuracy, clinically important outcomes that assist physicians and their patients in making individualized medical decisions.
The Company's lead development program is in oncology supportive care, with two product candidates currently in development: the Oncology Preferences And Risk of Toxicity (OnPART™) candidate and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT)/Mucositis™ product candidate.
About the Product Candidates
OnPART™ is designed to accurately predict, in advance of chemotherapy, the risk for six clinically significant and costly chemotherapy-related side effects including moderate to severe: nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, peripheral neuropathy, oral mucositis, cognitive dysfunction, and fatigue. It not only incorporates genomic risk for side effects but also offers a unique feature that quantifies a patient's willingness to tolerate these side effects using a Preference Assessment Inventory tool.
HSCT/Mucositis™ is designed to help identify which patients are at high risk of developing oral mucositis (ie, debilitating mouth sores), a common side effect resulting from high-dose chemotherapy conditioning regimens used prior to stem cell transplantation. Understanding who is at risk for oral mucositis in advance of these conditioning regimens will help physicians plan primary prevention strategies (eg, use of palifermin or dose modification) thus reducing the patient, clinical, and economic burden of this serious side effect.
For more information, please visit www.informgenomics.com.
About Vector Oncology
Vector Oncology is a leader in the design and delivery of real world oncology research and data analytics. Utilizing our comprehensive Oncology Data Warehouse and proprietary Patient Care Monitor (PCM) patient engagement and outcomes platform, our experienced project teams, oncology experts and health economics and outcomes scientists design and deliver top-quality projects generating real world evidence and insight. With our deeply experienced team in late stage research, Vector Oncology is uniquely positioned to demonstrate product value in terms of economic impact, clinical effectiveness and tolerability, and patient reported outcomes (PRO).