Labcorp has launched an “oncology platform” that combines drug development services and diagnostic testing.
The service is designed to combine breakthrough science and clinical insights to power better drug development decisions, according to Robert Phillips, Labcorp vice president and head of enterprise oncology.
“Advances in science have led to promising cancer-related discoveries, yet there is much more to do to in the field of oncology to find better treatments and improve lives,” he said.
Phillips predicted that through the combined service “We are able to empower better decisions and make precision medicine available to more cancer patients by expanding access to diagnostic testing and clinical trial opportunities across communities.”
Labcorp showcased the platform at the American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual conference, telling delegates that its OmniSeq Insight cancer tissue-based sequencing technology would also be available to customers that use the service.
According to the firm “The test helps physicians make decisions about therapeutic treatments and identify patients who may be eligible for any of several thousand ongoing clinical trials.”
The platform will also provide developers with access to Labcorp’s IntelliGEN assay that evaluates 50 genes known to be useful in providing diagnostic, prognostic and predictive information for patients with blood cancer.
Oncology
News of the new platform comes a few months after Labcorp rejigged its oncology team.
In February it hired Phillips from Daiichi-Sankyo, where he was vice president and head of translational science with responsibility for companion diagnostics.
Prior to that Philips was head of precision medicine at both Pfizer and Regeneron. He was also part of Novartis and Merck & CO’s respective oncology teams, where he focused on biomarkers.
February also Labcorp appoint Prasanth Reddy to its oncology team. Before joining Labcorp Reddy was vice president of medical affairs at Foundation Medicine.
The platform roll out also follows hot on the heels of Labcorp partnered with AI specialist Tempus to accelerate patient recruitment in oncology trials.
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