NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – SEngine Precision Medicine has inked an exclusive licensing agreement with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to market a diagnostic test designed to aid in the personalization of cancer treatments.
The assay, called PARIS, combines high-throughput drug screening of live, patient-derived tumor cells with DNA sequencing and data analysis to match individuals with optimal drug therapies.
The licensing deal also includes Hutch intellectual property and know-how related to more than 100 novel drug targets related to cancer growth. SEngine plans to investigate these targets for their response to small-molecule inhibitors in an effort to design more effective therapies.
"Forging this relationship with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center marks an important step toward our goal of harnessing the latest in technology and science in order to provide cancer patients with personalized, targeted, and less toxic treatment options," SEngine CEO Carla Grandori said in a statement. "The PARIS test has the potential to spare cancer patients unnecessary treatments, and improve quality and length of life as treatments are identified."
SEngine's lab recently received CLIA certification, allowing it to perform customized, high-throughput drug chemosensitivity screening for all solid tumor types on live, patient-derived cells.