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Caris Life Sciences Announces Major Milestone of 100,000 Clinical Cases using Caris Molecular Intelligence

Precision Medicine Pioneer with Significant Achievements since 2008
IRVING, Texas, Aug. 29, 2016 Caris Life Sciences®, a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced that it has surpassed 100,000 clinical cases with its comprehensive genomic and proteomic tumor profiling offering, Caris Molecular Intelligence®.
“We are very excited to reach this important milestone of 100,000 clinical cases. As one of the original companies to offer tumor profiling to help oncologists identify the molecular drivers of cancer and personalize therapy for each unique patient, we have seen tremendous growth in both utilization and clinical value,” said David D. Halbert, Chairman and CEO of Caris Life Sciences. “We have accomplished many of the goals we set out to achieve and, most importantly, we have helped thousands of cancer patients in their battle with cancer.”
Caris Molecular Intelligence is a patented and proprietary tumor profiling service that correlates molecular data from a tumor with biomarker and drug associations from clinical and scientific cancer literature to enable the delivery of precision medicine. This information can aid oncologists’ treatment decisions by identifying therapies that have the potential to be most effective and those that are less likely to work, based on the unique molecular characteristics of each individual patient’s cancer.
“Over the last decade it has become clear that cancer is an insidious enemy exploiting a multitude of different pathways to escape our treatments. Each patient requires a more intelligent and comprehensively designed treatment strategy to enable them to fight their disease most effectively,” said Dr. David Spetzler, Chief Scientific Officer of Caris Life Sciences. “With comprehensive, panomic tumor profiling, physicians are better able to identify molecular targets and evaluate personalized treatment options or clinical trials for each patient.”
Caris Molecular Intelligence Highlights and Accomplishments:

  • In 2014, the company established a world-class Scientific Advisory Board comprised of distinguished clinical and scientific experts to accelerate the development and commercialization of tumor profiling, as well as other innovative precision medicine technologies.
  • The company founded the Caris Centers of Excellence for Precision Medicine Network (Network) in 2015. The Network is developing new standards and consensus guidelines for tumor profiling, while also participating in research and outcomes tracking initiatives for patients that have received tumor profiling. The Network executive committee is led by:
    • Chairman: Dr. John L. Marshall, Georgetown University School of Medicine and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Vice Chairman: Dr. Derek Raghavan, Levine Cancer Institute
    • Vice Chairman: Dr. Gerold Bepler, Karmanos Cancer Institute
    • Vice Chairman: Dr. Lee S. Schwartzberg, West Cancer Center
    • Co-Chair, Steering Committee: Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, Fox Chase Cancer Center
    • Co-Chair, Steering Committee: Dr. Edward Kim, Levine Cancer Institute
      • Network members include:
        • MedStar Health/Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • West Cancer Center-The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
        • Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
        • Virginia Cancer Specialists
        • North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates
        • Maryland Oncology Hematology
        • Levine Cancer Institute-Carolinas HealthCare System
        • Fox Chase Cancer Center-Temple University Health System
        • The Cancer Therapy & Research Center-UT Medicine San Antonio
        • USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Memorial Healthcare System
        • Highlands Oncology Group
        • Nebraska Cancer Specialists
  • After more than 5 years of patient outcome tracking, the company’s prospective, observational study has matured and robust data demonstrating improved outcomes and the clinical utility of Caris Molecular Intelligence are being published. Initial data shows that when physicians followed CMI results, patients experience increased survival of 1.1 years and received 1.2 fewer lines of therapy.1-2
  • The company’s active research initiatives with Caris Molecular Intelligence have resulted in hundreds of published studies including peer-reviewed manuscripts, poster presentations and podium/oral presentations at industry conferences. One research article was recently featured by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in “The Best of the AACR Journals” as one of the most cited articles published in 2014.3-4
  • The company developed C.O.D.E. (Comprehensive Oncology Data Explorer), an innovative bioinformatics and data visualization tool that is designed to facilitate access to integrated molecular and clinical data and to assist researchers in the discovery of novel biomarkers and to explore drug/biomarker associations.
  • As the first comprehensive tumor profiling service to assess clinical biomarkers for potential response to novel immune checkpoint inhibitors, Caris Molecular Intelligence has analyzed approximately 35,000 cases for PD-L1, more than 4,000 cases for Microsatellite Instability (MSI) and over 7,600 cases for Total Mutational Load.
  • The company’s numerous pharmaceutical and academic collaborators leverage Caris Molecular Intelligence tumor profiling results and best-in-class laboratory services (CLIA, CAP, ISO 18159 and NY State accredited/certified) to identify qualified patients and facilitate patient accrual for biomarker-driven clinical trials.
  • Caris Molecular Intelligence is covered by a robust intellectual property portfolio that includes more than 20 patents worldwide.
  • The Caris Molecular Intelligence global footprint has expanded to more than 20 international distributor agreements covering approximately 40 countries.
  1. Impact of molecular profiling on overall survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer, TJ Herzog, W McGuire, et al. Oncotarget [Online], Volume 5 (1 March 2016)
  2. Multi-platform molecular profiling of 1,180 patients increases median overall survival and influences treatment decision in 53% of cases. D Spetzler, J Marshall, et al. European Cancer Congress 2015. Poster Presentation Abstract # 254
  3. The Best of AACR Journals. American Association for Cancer Research, p. 6. Published Online 2016.
  4. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) in common cancers and their correlation with molecular cancer type. Z Gatalica, O Hamid, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. December 2014 23:2965; Published Online First November 12, 2014; doi: 10.1158/1055-9965. EPI-14-0654

About Caris Life Sciences®
Caris Life Sciences® is a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. With more than 100,000 clinical cases, Caris Molecular Intelligence® (CMI) the company’s patented and proprietary product offering, provides oncologists with the most clinically actionable treatment options available to personalize cancer care today. Caris Molecular Intelligence uses a variety of advanced profiling technologies to assess relevant biological changes in each patient’s tumor.  CMI then connects the biomarker data generated from the tumor with biomarker-drug associations supported by the evidence and in relevant clinical literature through the Company’s proprietary bioinformatics rules engine. Since 2009, Caris Life Sciences has tracked clinical and outcome data for certain patients utilizing CMI, and has observed that patients treated with drugs consistent with CMI’s recommendations based upon the patient’s tumor profile show a significant increase in overall survival. The company is also developing its ADAPT Biotargeting System, a revolutionary and unbiased profiling platform with applications across therapy development, drug delivery, advanced diagnostics and disease monitoring. Currently being developed for cancer and other complex diseases, the ADAPT Biotargeting System is able to simultaneously measure millions of molecular interactions within complex biological systems in their natural state(s). Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.
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Brian Stengle
Caris Life Sciences
Media Relations & Corporate Affairs
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