Thermo Fisher Scientific has teamed up with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the myeloMATCH precision medicine umbrella trial.
Through the partnership, the US-based life science company aims to advance research into new treatments for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).
In the myeloMATCH trial, researchers will test patients’ bone marrow and blood for certain genetic biomarkers using Thermo Fisher’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology.
Using the NGS platform, clinical sites can rapidly match patients with a clinical trial that tests a treatment designed to target specific mutations present in the samples, said Thermo Fisher.
Thermo Fisher Scientific senior vice president and life sciences solutions president John Sos said: “myeloMATCH is an immense step forward for patients with aggressive and rapidly advancing cancers who need better treatment options.
“Using the Genexus System, clinical teams across sites can quickly match eligible patients with the right trials to ultimately better understand the clinical impact of these therapies.
“By helping to expedite this process, we can ensure that more patients have access to appropriate precision oncology treatments.”
The myeloMATCH study will be open in the US and Canadian sites of the NCI National Clinical Trials Network, which comprise more than 2,200 sites.
The study aims to complete the genomic testing and deliver results within a few days to help enrol patients into specific sub-studies based on their biomarker profiles.
It will use Thermo Fisher’s Ion Torrent Genexus System to advance the process of matching patients with relevant clinical trials.
Genexus is the first turnkey NGS solution that automates the specimen-to-report workflow to deliver results in a single day, using just two user touchpoints.
The samples will be sequenced at the myeloMATCH Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory Network (MDNet) using the Genexus System, along with the Oncomine-based NCI Myeloid Assay.
The testing will be conducted as part of the Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) granted by the US Food and Drug Administration to assign participants to myeloMATCH treatment studies.
