Color Genomics Advances Precision Medicine with New Test for Hereditary Cancers

BURLINGAME, Calif., April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking its one year anniversary since launching the first-ever widely accessible breast and ovarian cancer risk test, Color Genomics announced a new cancer panel analyzing 30 genes that highly impact the most common hereditary cancers affecting both men and women. Available today, the Color Test analyzes hereditary cancer risks for breast, colorectal, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, stomach, and uterine cancers. The Color Test is physician ordered and includes genetic counseling by a board-certified genetic counselor.

"When people find out about elevated risk, they have the opportunity to work with their physician to develop a preventive plan based on that information," said Othman Laraki, President of Color Genomics. "With this expanded Color Test, individuals can now learn about their risk of developing the eight most common hereditary cancers including breast and colon cancer for women as well as colon and pancreatic cancer for men."

The genes included on the broader panel can significantly impact a person's risk of cancer. For example, a mutation in the APC gene can increase a man or woman's chance to develop colorectal cancer by age 70 to 70-100% if there are no interventions. Access to genetic information helps individuals and doctors take a data-driven approach to create preventive plans and align with the appropriate screening guidelines relative to their risk. For example, the 5-year survival rate for colorectal cancer increases from 13% to 90% when caught at an earlier more treatable stage, statistics are similar for prostate and breast cancer.

"A data-driven model of medicine will allow innovation in healthcare, with faster cures and less toxic therapies," said Dr. Laura Esserman, Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the University of California, San Francisco. "Access to hereditary genetic information provides important data that allows physicians to create personalized screening strategies for patients based on their needs, which is what we are testing in the Wisdom Study."

Democratizing Access to Genetic Testing   
Since launching last year, Color has broken barriers to access with several initiatives:

• The Every Woman Program which provides access to the Color Test at no cost for underprivileged individuals in partnership with top cancer centers like University of California, San Francisco, The University of Washington Medical Center, Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center and Morehouse School of Medicine.
• The Color Benefits Program provides access to genetic testing through employee benefits with leading companies like Visa, Instacart, Medium, Stripe and Slack.
• Research collaborations such as the WISDOM study in partnership with the five University of California medical centers  on a 100,000 women study to design personalized preventative health plan using genetic testing provided by Color with the goal of  better managing the risk of breast cancer for women.
• Extensive educational tools, content and services designed to help doctors save time and better support their patient's needs while minimizing paperwork.
• Participation in the White House Precision Medicine Initiative to help broaden access to genetic information and make customized care and precision medicine a reality.

Product Details and Pricing:

• The Color Test analyzes hereditary risk for  breast, ovarian, uterine, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, stomach and prostate cancer*.
• The Color Test analyzes the following 30 genes that are associated with hereditary cancers:  APC, ATM, BAP1, BARD1, BMPR1A, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CDH1, CDK4, CDKN2A (p14ARF) and (p16INK4a), CHEK2, EPCAM, GREM1, MITF, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, MUTYH, NBN, PALB2, PMS2, POLD1, POLE, PTEN, RAD51C, RAD51D, SMAD4, STK11, TP53
• The Color Test has been validated in studies with both the University of Washington and UCSF.
• The Color Test is available today at $249.

(*) Note that research on genes associated with hereditary prostate cancer is still in its early stages. It is part of the Color service to keep individuals and providers updated if any information related to results changes.

To learn more about Color Genomics, please visit www.getcolor.com

To learn more about the validation of the Color Test, please see the white paper here, https://s3.amazonaws.com/color-static-prod/pdfs/validationWhitePaper.pdf

To learn more about the WISDOM study mentioned by Dr. Esserman, please visit wisdomstudy.org

About Color Genomics:   
Launched in April 2015, Color Genomics' goal is to democratize access to genetic information. The Color Test is physician ordered, analyzes 30 genes related to the most common hereditary cancers (including breast, colorectal, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, stomach and uterine cancers) and offers complimentary board-certified genetic counseling with each test for clients and healthcare providers. Headquartered in Burlingame, CA, Color Genomics is privately held and backed by Khosla Ventures, Formation 8 and several leading angel investors. To learn more about Color, follow Color on Twitter @ColorGenomics or Facebook at facebook.com/ColorGenomics and visit getcolor.com.

SOURCE Color Genomics

Related Links

http://www.getcolor.com