PITTSBURGH and SAN DIEGO, Aug. 23,
2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Health announced today
that through its VITAL Innovation Program, it is testing Biocept,
Inc.'s Target Selector™ liquid biopsy platform designed to help
oncologists improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with
non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The goals of the collaboration
are to improve health outcomes by using liquid biopsy to more
rapidly assess a patient's molecular status and select appropriate
therapy, while reducing the overall cost of care.
A test-and-learn platform, the unique VITAL program leverages
Highmark Health's position as the nation's second largest
integrated delivery and financing system. VITAL facilitates
real-world testing of early-stage health innovations, producing
evidence related to patient experience, and care and cost outcomes.
The evidence may accelerate an innovation's coverage and
utilization by health plans and care delivery systems,
fast-tracking the solution to patients and supporting swifter
marketplace adoption.
More than 100 patients of Highmark Health-affiliated Allegheny
Health Network (AHN) Cancer Institute will participate in the
evaluation of the Biocept (NASDAQ: BIOC) platform as a method of
improving the molecular profiling rate of advanced NSCLC.
During the evaluation, the Biocept platform will molecularly
profile the liquid biopsies of newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve
advanced NSCLC patients and NSCLC patients progressing after
initial therapy. These patients will also receive tissue biopsy as
part of the evaluation.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men
and women in the United States,
with an estimated 155,870 deaths in 2017.1 The median
overall survival for patients with advanced NSCLC is approximately
one year, with the five-year survival rate for metastatic lung
cancer at 5%.2 However, 17–27% of NSCLC patients harbor
molecular alterations that can be treated with specific
FDA-approved targeted therapies. In order to realize the full
potential of these targeted therapies, oncologists require timely
and accurate molecular characterization of a patient's cancer for
selection of the best possible therapy, with some of the treatment
regimens extending median patient survival times from one to two
and one-half years.3-7
Despite these advances, a large percentage of
patients may not undergo molecular profiling due to a number of
practical constraints. Chief among these is the availability of
tissue for molecular testing. Lung cancers are often difficult to
biopsy because of their location within what is often diseased lung
tissue of elderly patients. Needle biopsy is the most common
technique but often does not yield enough tissue for molecular
testing. Performing a second biopsy is a way of remedying this
situation, but these procedures can add to risk and cost. The VITAL
test will study the opportunity for Biocept's liquid biopsy from a
simple blood draw to provide an effective solution that can lower
cost, provide additional information to help oncologists precisely
target therapies, and achieve better outcomes.
"The diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients is among
Highmark Health's chief priorities and a focus of the VITAL
Innovation Program," said Sarah
Ahmad, senior vice president of innovation and
transformation strategy for Highmark Health. "We look forward to
evaluating the ways in which Biocept's technology could help
transform the care of patients challenged by lung cancer."
"This project directly supports the Allegheny Health Network
Cancer Institute's mission to advance best practices, including
diagnosis and treatment of all cancers, and to help remove any
barriers to patients' access to the best care that's available,"
said Gene Finley, MD, deputy
director of Allegheny Health Network Medical Oncology and lead
investigator on this project. "We believe that implementing Biocept
liquid biopsies could provide AHN clinicians with more accurate
knowledge about their patients' disease, allowing us to implement
more effective and better targeted treatment strategies."
"This collaboration with the VITAL Innovation Program and
Allegheny Health Network reflects Biocept's role as a leader in the
liquid biopsy field and represents an important movement towards
improving care for cancer patients," said Michael Nall, Biocept's president and chief
executive officer. "We hope to further build the body of
evidence supporting our Target Selector™ platform's ability to help
physicians rapidly obtain the actionable information they need to
design personalized treatment plans for their patients."
VITAL's evaluation of Biocept's Target Selector™ liquid biopsy
platform will occur for a period of 12 months, concluding in August
of 2019.
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh,
PA-based company, that, together with its subsidiaries and
affiliates collectively employ more than 40,000 people and serve
millions of Americans across the country, is the second largest
integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation
based on revenue. Highmark Health is the parent company of
Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health
Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates
provide health insurance to nearly 5 million members in
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware as well as dental insurance, vision
care and related health products through a national network of
diversified businesses that include United Concordia Companies, HM
Insurance Group, and Visionworks. Allegheny Health
Network is the parent company of an integrated delivery network
that includes eight hospitals, more than 2,400 affiliated
physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician
organization, home and community-based health services, a research
institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness
pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions
focuses on meeting the information technology platform and other
business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as
unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business
processes, expert knowledge and integrated cloud-based
platforms. To learn more, please visit
www.highmarkhealth.org. For information specific to
the VITAL Innovation Program, please visit
www.vitalinnovation.com.
About Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network, a Highmark Health company, is an
integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater
Western Pennsylvania region. The
Network is composed of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General
Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Valley Hospital in
Natrona Heights, Canonsburg
Hospital in Canonsburg, Forbes
Hospital in Monroeville, Jefferson
Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Saint
Vincent Hospital in Erie, West
Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and
Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. The Network provides
patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical
services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and
emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic
surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women's health, diabetes and
more. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health
+ Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and
community based health services and a group purchasing
organization. The Network employs approximately 19,000 people, has
more than 2,400 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a
clinical campus for Drexel University
College of Medicine, Temple University
School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie
College of Osteopathic Medicine. To learn more, please visit
www.AHN.org.
About Biocept
Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC) is a molecular diagnostics company
with commercialized assays for lung, breast, gastric, colorectal
and prostate cancers, and melanoma. The Company leverages its
proprietary liquid biopsy technology to provide physicians with
clinically actionable information for treating and monitoring
patients diagnosed with cancer. Biocept's patented Target
Selector™ liquid biopsy technology platform captures and analyzes
tumor-associated molecular markers in both circulating tumor cells
(CTCs) and in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). With thousands of
tests performed, the platform has demonstrated the ability to
identify cancer mutations and alterations to inform physicians
about a patient's disease and therapeutic options. For additional
information, please visit www.biocept.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer Statement
This
news release contains forward-looking statements that are based
upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of
assumptions about future events. Although Biocept believes that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the
assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, Biocept can
give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove
to be correct. Forward-looking statements are generally
identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should,"
"could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend" or
"project," or the negative of these words or other variations on
these words or comparable terminology. To the extent that
statements in this news release are not strictly historical,
including, without limitation, statements as to Biocept's ability
to improve the outcomes of cancer patients, the utility and cost
effectiveness of Biocept's tests, and Biocept's ability to further
validate its liquid biopsy technology, such statements are
forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to
numerous risk factors as set forth in Biocept's Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The effects of such risks
and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially
from the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
Biocept does not plan to update any such forward-looking statements
and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information
contained in this press release except as required by law.
References:
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[5] Rosell R, et al. Erlotinib versus standard
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[7] Chih-Hsin Yang J et al Afatinib versus
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