The collaboration aims to develop a genetic test to identify specific genetic deletions for targeted therapies.
Foundation Medicine is expanding its collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to develop FoundationOne CDx as a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based companion diagnostic to identify patients with homozygous MTAP deletion across multiple indications for an investigational targeted therapy.
Homozygous deletion is a major cause of MTAP deficiency. However, these alterations can be challenging to identify accurately because copy number calling often has a low signal-to-noise ratio. FoundationOne CDx is a tissue-based NGS test approved by the Food and Drug Administration to detect copy number loss. Accurate reporting of homozygous deletion can help clinicians identify eligible patients for targeted treatments.
“Homozygous MTAP deletion is a critical biomarker, yet one that can be difficult to detect without an assay that unveils blind spots others interpret as noise,” says Troy Schurr, chief commercial officer at Foundation Medicine, in a release. “Foundation Medicine has approved companion diagnostic indications across all four major classes of genomic alterations and works with biopharmaceutical companies to support biomarker-driven therapy development.”
