Summary: Pillar Biosciences partnered with AstraZeneca to expand access to NGS-based liquid biopsy tumor profiling, enabling faster and more localized detection of genetic cancer variants.

Takeaways:

  1. The partnership aims to provide local laboratories with rapid and cost-effective NGS kits for liquid biopsy testing, enabling tumor identification with actionable genomic alterations.
  2. Pillar Biosciences’ oncoReveal panels can deliver results within three days, reducing turnaround time compared to traditional methods that often take weeks.
  3. This collaboration enhances global patient access to biomarker testing, supporting faster and more accurate cancer treatment decisions.

Pillar Biosciences entered into a strategic partnership with AstraZeneca to expand laboratory access to molecular testing, using rapid, next generation sequencing (NGS)-based liquid biopsy tumor profiling panels for the detection of genetic cancer variants, with an initial focus on European markets and the United Kingdom.

Tumor Identification Via Liquid Biopsy

The partnership aims to rapidly identify tumors with clinically actionable genomic alterations via liquid biopsy profiling and intends to support faster diagnostic testing by increasing the local availability of plasma-based tumor profiling at leading clinical laboratories. 

The work will initially leverage Pillar Biosciences oncoReveal Core LBx, Essential LBx, and Fusion LBx research-use-only (RUO) liquid biopsy kitted NGS panels. Pillar’s oncoReveal Core LBx panel, which interrogates 104 genes in circulating cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA), oncoReveal Essential LBx panel, which interrogates 34 genes in cfDNA,and oncoReveal Fusion LBx, which interrogates various fusion forms from 18 driver genes via circulating cell-free tumor RNA (cfRNA), can be performed by any laboratory, with a sample-to-report time in less than three days. 

Laboratories will be able to batch test both cfDNA and cfRNA samples from >22 patients on a single Illumina NextSeq run, enabling economic value and scale of sequencing needed to properly profile at extremely high levels of sensitivity and specificity.

“Access to cost effective, easy to use, distributed NGS kits for liquid biopsy testing are critical to support local laboratories in providing clinically actionable results to oncologists and supporting critical treatment decisions for cancer patients globally,” says Dan Harma, chief commercial officer, Pillar Biosciences. “Pillar Biosciences LBx panels, including oncoReveal Core LBx, oncoReveal Essential LBx and oncoReveal Fusion LBx will help provide in-house results locally within a few days vs. several weeks to receive results from sending out their patient samples for most clinical laboratories.”

Further reading: Sophia Genetics and AstraZeneca Partner to Develop Liquid Biopsy Cancer Test

“We are committed to expanding global patient access to biomarker testing, and decentralized NGS solutions are key to this strategy,” says John Longshore, head of Scientific Affairs, Global Oncology Diagnostics, AstraZeneca. “These kit-based methods allow a broad range of laboratories to perform high-quality NGS testing, which improves patient access to targeted therapies. Pillar Biosciences sequencing panels provide rapid, simplified NGS workflows and bioinformatics, which are ideal to supporting our global efforts.”