CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Foundation Medicine today announced a new agreement with Novartis to provide comprehensive genomic analysis in support of Novartis clinical oncology programs.

Novartis plans to use Foundation Medicines molecular information platform across many of Novartis Phase 1 and 2 oncology clinical programs. The pilot program established between Novartis and Foundation Medicine 18 months ago has generated very interesting data, and this type of tumor genomic profiling has become an essential component of Novartis clinical trials. The partnership consists of running Foundation Medicines comprehensive genomic profiling on most Phase 1 and 2 clinical trial enrollees over the next three years. The partnership aims to accelerate the development of Novartis broad portfolio of targeted cancer therapeutics and ultimately expand treatment options for patients.

The comprehensive molecular assessment of Novartis Oncology clinical trial samples is expected to help to bring potentially lifesaving therapies to the right patients more quickly, and we expect that the wealth of molecular information will help fundamentally improve the way cancer is understood and treated, said Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and CEO, Foundation Medicine. We are pleased to see our collaboration mature into a significant relationship between Foundation Medicine and Novartis.

Foundation Medicine uses clinical-grade, next-generation sequencing to rapidly analyze hundreds of cancer-related genes from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples in a CLIA-certified environment. Novartis plans to use these capabilities in an effort to align clinical trial enrollment and outcome analysis with the genomic profile of individual patient tumors to drive development of new cancer treatments. Foundation Medicine also offers testing services to physicians and their patients through the companys commercial product, FoundationOne, which includes an interpretive report that matches detected genomic alterations with potential treatment options and clinical trials. The company may develop additional diagnostic products resulting from the Novartis collaboration.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patients unique cancer. The companys initial clinical product, FoundationOne, is a fully informative genomic profile to identify a patients individual molecular alterations and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicines molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.foundationmedicine.com.

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Foundation Medicine Enters Extensive Collaboration to Provide Genomic Information for Clinical Oncology Programs