Life Technologies launches new molecular test to detect lung cancer

Comtex News Network

Sep 26, 2012 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) --Life Technologies Corporation, a biotechnology company, has launched Pervenio Lung RS.

According to the company, the molecular test has been documented to identify early stage lung cancer patients who are at high risk for mortality following surgery. It also fulfills the need for prognostic information to guide preventative treatment and improve disease management.

Pervenio Lung RS consists of a quantitative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay measuring expression of 14-gene panel using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor specimens. The prognostic genes are related to known molecular lung cancer pathways, such as KRAS, BRAF, EGFR, HER2, ALK, and p53.

The company's CLIA lab offers a physician portal to help doctors interpret results of genomic tests. Its additional plans include making Pervenio Lung RS available outside of the US so the test can be broadly deployed on Life Technologies' regulated platforms, including the 7500 Fast Dx for qPCR.

"The speed with which our new laboratory organization was able to bring this test to market is a testimony to the organizational agility that will differentiate Life Technologies in the diagnostic space," said Ronnie Andrews, president of medical sciences at Life Technologies. "We are committed to providing multiple pathways for offering a menu of unique tests where we see unmet need and potential to significantly improve the management of complex diseases."

"Published guidelines already urge doctors to identify early stage patients at high risk of death, so that early chemotherapy can be used to reduce that risk and save lives," said said Michael Mann, associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. "Pervenio Lung RS has been documented to better identify the earliest stage, high-risk patients than the criteria currently suggested by these guidelines."

"Better prognostic information will enable more informed decisions in the management of early stage lung cancer," said Dr Mann. "Many Stage II patients decline potentially life-saving intervention, not knowing what their true risk of death might be. The Pervenio test is the first to document better discrimination of high risk patients in both Stage IA and IB compared to published high-risk criteria for Stage IB alone."

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