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In Brief This Week: Foundation Medicine, Myriad Genetics, Immunovia, Biocept, and More

NEW YORK – Foundation Medicine and Flatiron Health announced this week that Foundation’s comprehensive genomic profiling tests will be available to order through Flatiron’s OncoEMR platform. The integration will allow clinicians to electronically order, track, and receive Foundation’s test through OncoEMR, the companies said. Both Flatiron and Foundation are planning further integrations with other comprehensive genomic profiling tests and electronic medical record systems.


Myriad Genetics this week said it has completed the sale of its Myriad RBM unit, which specializes in providing laboratory research services to pharmaceutical companies, to IQVIA subsidiary Q2 Solutions. When Myriad announced its intent to sell this business unit in May, it did not release the financial details of the deal.


Enable Biosciences said this week it is partnering with the California Department of Public Health to survey state residents for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. As part of the program, more than 200,000 households in California will be invited to submit dried blood samples collected at home using kits developed by Enable Bio and the CDPH. The samples will then be tested by Enable Bio for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to distinguish antibody response from viral infection versus response from vaccination. Test results will provide information about the spread of COVID-19 in California and the uptake of vaccines for the disease, South San Francisco, California-based Enable Bio said. The project is a collaboration between the company, the CDPH, Stanford University, and Gauss Surgical. The first survey period concluded June 15 with the second and third enrollment periods slated to begin at the start of 2022.


Immunovia said this week that its American subsidiary has received a CLIA Certificate of Registration, which is an important step in the accreditation of its laboratory in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and a prerequisite to receiving clinical laboratory licensure from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Clinical laboratory licensure is required before Immunovia can begin testing patients with its Immray PanCan-d test, the firm said. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a Certificate of Registration allows a laboratory to conduct moderate and/or high complexity testing until it is inspected to determine its compliance with the CLIA regulations.


Molecular breath analysis startup Deep Breath Intelligence said this week that it has entered a collaboration with Löwenstein Medical, a sleep and respiratory medicine firm based in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Rotkreuz, Switzerland-based DBI said that it is applying artificial intelligence to identify breath biomarkers related to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. DBI said it has initiated a study on OSAS in collaboration with Löwenstein Medical, using participants’ breath samples and applying DBI’s patterned analytical algorithms to provide results.


AccessHope, a City of Hope subsidiary, said this week that it has partnered with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to bring the latest cancer care know-how and expertise to patients and their treating oncologists in the community. By partnering with AccessHope, Dana-Farber's experts will support oncologists with the latest advances in oncology, including personalized treatments, clinical trials, promising investigational medications, and molecular testing. Patients in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, as well as those in other parts of the country, can access these services through their employee benefits programs. In addition to Dana-Farber, City of Hope and Northwestern University's Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center are also foundational members of AccessHope.


Biocept has been added to the Russell Microcap Index, the firm said this week. Michael Nall, Biocept's president and CEO, called the nod “exceptionally exciting,” as a driver of awareness for the cancer liquid biopsy firm within the larger global investment community.


Genetron Health said this week that it has entered a new partnership with the World Economic Forum under its Health and Healthcare Platform, where it is contributing its research insights, technologies, and industry experience.

The platform's overall goal is to ensure worldwide equal access to the highest standards of health and healthcare. Genetron is currently participating in a sub-project, dubbed Moving Genomics to the Clinic, which seeks to promote the use of genetic testing in routine clinical practices by proving its utility and efficacy.


Sermonix Pharmaceuticals said this week that it has completed enrollment for its Phase II clinical trial evaluating its investigational selective estrogen receptor modulator lasofoxifene combined with abemaciclib (Eli Lilly's Verzenio) as treatment for ESR1-mutated metastatic estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. To identify eligible patients and complete trial enrollment in a timely manner, Sermonix partnered with the molecular diagnostics firm Tempus.


In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on 360Dx.