Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
The work will focus on supporting the validation of a Cancer Research UK SMP Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) targeted enrichment panel, using Horizon’s HDx human genomic Reference Materials. The NGS project involves multi-gene, multi-aberration tumor analysis and is being run in CPA, GLP and ISO accredited laboratories, with a UK NEQAS (www.ukneqas.org.uk) quality assessment. These Reference Materials will support run-to-run and lab-to-lab longitudinal assessment of performance of the NGS technology.
In Phase Two of the SMP, Cancer Research UK will work with the national Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) network and national genetic testing laboratories to develop a national screening programme for lung cancer samples in the NHS. Once screened, these results will be used to place patients on the National Lung Matrix Trial, run by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) in Birmingham, and led by Prof. Gary Middleton.
The scope of the project involves Horizon’s Diagnostics business unit providing renewable, genetically defined Reference Materials representing a range of genetic aberrations and containing defined allelic mutation frequencies. The Reference Materials developed will enable reliable comparison of assay performance across sequencing platforms, targeted assays and laboratories by providing a common universal reference point.
Many factors contribute to variability in the quality of clinical samples, which is currently a concern within molecular pathology laboratories working towards the clinical application of NGS panels for tumor screening. To address this, Cancer Research UK will use Horizon’s precisely defined formalin compromised Reference Standards to assess the performance of Cancer Research UK’s-SMP NGS, in order to inform any necessary changes in clinical practice surrounding preparation of FFPE samples for downstream NGS analysis.
Dr Paul Morrill, President, Products, Horizon Discovery, said: “Research programs such as Cancer Research UK’s Stratified Medicine Programme form a vital piece of the puzzle in the drive toward personalized, or stratified, medicine as a routine approach for the testing and treatment of cancer. We are delighted to have been chosen to support Cancer Research UK on the delivery of Phase Two of this project.”
Dr Ian Walker, Head of Cancer Research UK’s stratified medicine programme, commented: “Research into stratified medicine is helping us to understand the genetic changes that drive cancer, and to find out how different cancers respond to treatment. Ensuring accuracy in genetic assessment of tumors is a vital part of this process, and we welcome Horizon’s involvement in assisting Cancer Research UK with taking the Stratified Medicine Programme forwards.”
About Horizon Discovery Group plc
Horizon is a revenue-generating life science company supplying research tools to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalized medicines. Horizon has a diverse and international customer base of over 1,000 organizations across nearly 50 countries, including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies as well as leading academic research centers. The Company supplies its products and services into multiple markets, estimated to total in excess of £29 billion by 2015.
Horizon’s core capabilities are built around its proprietary translational genomics platform, a high-precision and flexible suite of gene editing tools able to alter almost any endogenous gene sequence of human or mammalian cell-lines. Horizon offers almost 14,000 products, almost all of which are based on the application of gene editing to generate cell lines that accurately model the disease-causing mutations found in genetically based diseases. These ‘patients-in-a-test-tube’ are being used by customers to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, which may lead to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently available and future drug treatments.
In addition, Horizon provides GENASSIST™ CRISPR and rAAV gene editing tools, custom cell line generation services for research and bioproduction applications, quantitative molecular reference standards, in vivo disease models, contract research and custom screening services and custom shRNA development services and off-the-shelf validated shRNA (through Horizon’s partner Sirion).
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker “HZD”.
About Horizon Diagnostics
Horizon Diagnostics, a business unit of Horizon Discovery Group plc, is a leading provider of genetically defined, human genomic reference standards, including FFPE cell line sections and purified genomic DNA. HDx™ Reference Standards offer a sustainable source of reference material to laboratories, proficiency schemes and manufacturers, providing an unprecedented level of control.
Variability in DNA extraction from tumour biopsies and a lack of standardisation are currently major sources of error in molecular laboratories. The availability of genetically defined reference materials provides an industry standard for development and quality control of molecular assays, directly improving their accuracy.
Horizon Diagnostics’ suite of reference material includes standards for the increasing number of ‘rare’ mutations being targeted for cancer therapeutics, which by definition are hard to find in clinical samples.
Drawing upon Horizon Discovery’s proprietary genome editing platform, GENESIS™, Horizon Diagnostics reconstitutes clinically relevant cancer genes in human cell lines, exactly as they occur in patient tumours. Horizon Diagnostics is able to define virtually every characteristic of its reference standards, from the molecular constitution of the genome to the diameter, width and DNA output associated with each product batch. These standards have been made available in a variety of formats including genomic DNA (gDNA) aliquots, Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) slices and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) material. Horizon Diagnostics is also adapting the technology to support immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays.
About Cancer Research UK
•Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
•Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
•Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated.
•Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years.
•Today, 2 in 4 people survive cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that 3 in 4 people will survive cancer within the next 20 years.
•Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
•Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About the Stratified Medicine Programme
Cancer Research UK's Stratified Medicine Programme (SMP) aims to make targeted treatments available for people with cancer in the UK. Working together with pharmaceutical partners we are developing a national network of pre-screening hospitals and genetic testing laboratories to analyse tumour samples from patients with late stage lung cancer for various mutations in 28 genes. The results of the pre screening will allow patients to be stratified onto specific treatments targeted at their individual tumour mutations. The targeted treatments are being provided by the National Lung Matrix Trial run by the CRCTU in Birmingham with Prof Gary Middleton as the lead investigator.
Our goal is to establish the foundations for a national service that ensures a standard, high quality, cost-effective genetic test for tumour is available as part of routine NHS cancer care.
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For further information from Horizon Discovery Group Plc, please contact:
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor Relations)
Amber Bielecka / Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (NOMAD)
Corporate Finance: Freddy Crossley / Duncan Monteith / Fred Walsh
Broking: Tom Salvesen
Tel: +44 20 7886 2500
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