Biodesix, Boulder, Colo, recently announced that its VeriStrat test has received a positive coverage decision from Highmark Inc, a Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate organization and one of the largest insurance companies in the United States at 5.3 million members. Highmark will cover the blood-based test to help guide second-line treatments for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who do not have an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, or whose mutation status is unknown. The coverage policy will become effective October 27, 2014.
VeriStrat is a noninvasive diagnostic assay that predicts differential treatment outcomes between two types of therapies for second-line treatment of inoperable, advanced NSCLC: chemotherapy or the targeted drug erlotinib. Physicians use VeriStrat results, in combination with other clinical and pathological factors, to guide therapy decisions for NSCLC patients. With test results reported in less than 72 hours, physicians can assess the patient’s VeriStrat profile just prior to making second-line treatment decisions.
“Highmark’s decision to cover VeriStrat enables a significantly larger patient population to benefit from the prognostic and predictive qualities of our proprietary test,” says David Brunel, CEO of Biodesix. “When physicians are enabled to prescribe personalized treatment options, patients receive a higher level of care that can support a greater quality of life.”
For more information, visit Biodesix.