Dr. Wafik El-Deiry Joins Caris Centers of Excellence for Precision Medicine Network as co-Chair of the Steering Committee to Develop Guidelines and Research Protocols for Tumor Profiling
IRVING, TX (June 10, 2015) — Caris Life Sciences®, a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced it has designated Fox Chase Cancer Center a center of excellence site in the Caris Centers of Excellence for Precision Medicine Network™ (Network).
Fox Chase Cancer Center, part of the Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States, and was among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, Deputy Cancer Center Director for Translational Research and Co-Program Leader of Molecular Therapeutics, will also join the Network Steering Committee to help establish guidelines and research protocols for tumor profiling.
"I am excited by the addition of Fox Chase Cancer Center to the Centers of Excellence Network and we are thrilled to welcome Dr. El-Deiry as a co-Chair of the steering committee," said Dr. John Marshall, Chairman of the Network, Professor of Medicine and Oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. "His leadership and expertise in translational medicine will prove invaluable to the development of clinical trials across the Network."
As a Network member, Fox Chase Cancer Center will actively participate in the development of standards of care and best practices for integrating and utilizing molecular profiling in oncology practice, while also striving to increase widespread adoption and patient access to personalized medicine in clinical settings. Fox Chase Cancer Center will also leverage Caris' multiple-technology tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence®, to further the Institute's practice of precision medicine by identifying therapy options and clinical trial opportunities based on the unique characteristics of a patient's tumor.
"I am excited about Fox Chase Cancer Center being selected as one of the founding members to join the Caris Centers of Excellence for Precision Medicine Network," said El-Deiry. "I am also looking forward to partnering with my distinguished colleagues to develop innovative clinical trials using comprehensive tumor profiling, as well as sharing best practices to further our understanding of the biological drivers of a patient's tumor."
Caris Molecular Intelligence, a service that correlates molecular data from a tumor with biomarker and drug associations from the latest clinical and scientific cancer literature, is the key technology platform used across the Network to enable the delivery of precision medicine. This information is used to help inform treatment decisions by identifying therapies that have the potential to be most effective and to rule out those that are less likely to work based on the unique molecular characteristics of an individual patient's cancer. The Caris Molecular Intelligence system uses multiple technology platforms combined with sophisticated bioinformatics to develop clinically actionable reports for more than 70,000 patients to date.
About Caris Life Sciences®
Caris Life Sciences® is a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. Caris Molecular Intelligence®, the company's healthcare information and comprehensive tumor profiling service with more than 70,000 patients profiled, provides oncologists with the most clinically actionable treatment options available to personalize cancer care today. Using a variety of advanced profiling technologies to assess relevant biological changes in each patient's tumor, Caris Molecular Intelligence connects biomarker data generated from a tumor with biomarker-drug associations supported by evidence in the relevant clinical literature. Since 2009, Caris has tracked clinical and outcome data for certain patients undergoing tumor molecular profiling, for which Caris has observed that patients treated with drugs consistent with their molecular profile show a significant increase in overall survival. The company is developing its Carisome® TOP™ technology, a revolutionary and proprietary blood-based platform for the development of novel therapeutics, drug delivery and drug target identification. The technology is also being developed for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout Europe, the U.S., Australia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.