NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Contextual Genomics and the Personalized Medicine Initiative today announced that ArcherDx has joined the Canadian National Access Project for Cancer Testing.
ArcherDx's gene fusion assays will be used to help identify lung cancer gene mutations, Contextual Genomics CEO Chris Wagner said in a statement. ArcherDx's FusionPlex technology can detect EML4-ALK gene fusions and will "enhance our cancer panel tests to identify this mutated gene fusion in lung cancer patients," he said.
The National Access Project is a consortium led by Contextual Genomics and the Personalized Medicine Initiative to provide genomic testing for 2,000 cancer patients, free of charge, at 10 centers acrossCanada. Contextual Genomics is providing the tests to profile tumors; all of the mutations tested for are associated with clinical trials or existing treatments.
Boulder, Colorado-based ArcherDx's FusionPlex next-generation sequencing-based panels can detect ALK, RET, ROS1, FGFR, and NTRK fusions.
Illumina signed onto the National Access Project last month, joining pharmaceutical companies Sanofi, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.