Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center identified clinically actionable germline mutations in 8.5 percent of about 2,700 unselected lung cancer patients.
The collaboration agreement includes support for development, regulatory submission, and commercialization of tests to guide use of Novartis' drug portfolio.
The test is approved to gauge germline BRCA mutations in advanced breast cancer patients who may benefit from treatment with Pfizer's PARP inhibitor Talzenna.
The firm said that the assay uses vaginal or rectal swabs to identify Group B Streptococcus DNA in about an hour. It has filed for 510(k) clearance with the US FDA.
DNA quantification and normalization are required in most genomics workflows, and are usually routinely implemented after the initial nucleic acid purification step. The versatility of the classical absorbance technique still makes it the go-to method for many applications, as the concentration of all DNA and RNA types can be determined using the specific empiric extinction coefficient for each nucleic acid type.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a preferred method for quantification of low amounts of DNA or cDNA due to its high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility. Consistently high and uniform qPCR efficiencies are crucial for accurate relative quantification of gene expression levels, low copy gene detection or absolute quantification of NGS libraries1.
Genomics is facilitating a deeper understanding of cancer biology and through clinical research, new biomarkers are emerging that pave the way for next-generation therapeutics to help fight cancer in a more personalized way.
In this webinar, Sandip Patel, MD will provide a review of biomarker research and discoveries in the field of Immunotherapy and Garret Hampton, PhD will discuss Illumina’s vision for Oncology and share how genomics will enable broader availability of comprehensive tumor sequencing to explore complex biomarkers and assess tumor mutational burden.
