BUFFALO, N.Y., April 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OmniSeq®, a molecular diagnostics subsidiary of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, announced today Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (TYO:8036) (Hitachi High-Tech)’s participation in OmniSeq’s Series B financing round and an option to exclusively license OmniSeq Comprehensive® and Immune Report Card® for clinical distribution in Japan.
OmniSeq® will use the funds to conduct ongoing retrospective and prospective clinical trials and to generate further evidence of the clinical utility of OmniSeq’s comprehensive genomic and immune profiling services. Hitachi High-Tech joins LabCorp® (NYSE:LH) and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in OmniSeq’s Series B financing round. As previously announced, the OmniSeq Comprehensive® and Immune Report Card® assays are exclusively offered by LabCorp to U.S.-based physicians through Integrated Oncology, a member of the LabCorp Specialty Testing Group, and globally to biopharmaceutical customers through Covance Drug Development.
The companies will further collaborate on Hitachi High-Tech’s plans to develop clinical laboratory operations in Japan. “With this collaboration, the companies expect to leverage Hitachi High-Tech’s decades of expertise in sequencing technology with OmniSeq’s expertise in assay development, thus enabling Hitachi High-Tech to take a first-to-market position in a new wave of immunotherapy cancer diagnostics in Japan” said Mark Gardner, CEO of OmniSeq.
Toshiyuki Ikeda, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer of Hitachi High-Tech further stated “Hitachi High-Tech has made the field of biotechnology and healthcare its priority. Amid a recent increase in demand for personalized healthcare that provides optimal medical treatment for each individual patient in this field, there are strong expectations for developments in cancer therapy and other areas. Immunotherapy, including a class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors (CPI), is expected to be the fastest growing class of cancer drugs over the next several years.”
Immune Report Card® is a first-in-kind comprehensive immune profiling test designed to inform oncologists regarding checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) treatment decisions. The Immune Report Card combines results for all common biomarker assays relevant for checkpoint inhibitors, including PD-L1 IHC, microsatellite instability, mutational burden as well as RNA next-generation sequencing gene expression that are essential to measure the immune response.
OmniSeq Comprehensive® is a 144-gene, pan-cancer, next-generation sequencing tumor profiling diagnostic panel to guide oncology treatment decision-making. OmniSeq Comprehensive’s small sample requirements have enabled complete results from 98 percent of clinical samples received while providing actionable results for over 80 percent of patients tested, on par with other comprehensive genomic profiling assays.
Taken together, these assays inform oncologists about the complete range of available targeted therapy and immunotherapy opportunities for cancer patients. To learn more about OmniSeq Comprehensive or Immune Report Card, call 1-800-781-1259 or visit www.omniseq.com.
About Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is engaged in activities in a broad range of fields, including Science & Medical Systems, Electronic Device Systems, Industrial Systems, and Advanced Industrial Products. The company's consolidated sales for FY2016 were approx. JPY645.5 billion [USD6 billion]. For further information, visit https://www.hitachi-hightech.com/global/
About OmniSeq
OmniSeq, an innovation of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, is a molecular diagnostic laboratory based in Buffalo, New York. OmniSeq endeavors to find the right drug or the right trial for every patient by improving access to better cancer treatment options through molecular profiling. OmniSeq offers two NGS-based assays: Immune Report Card® and OmniSeq Comprehensive®. For more information, call +1-800-781-1259 or visit www.omniseq.com.
OmniSeq Contact Information:
Matt Klusas
Chief Commercial Officer
Office: +1.716.898.8684
Matthew.Klusas@omniseq.com