FREENOME AND MERCK KGAA, DARMSTADT, GERMANY TO PRESENT DATA ON COMBINATION OF MULTIOMICS PROFILING AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AT AACR ANNUAL MEETING

– Signatures of non-small cell lung cancer in patients identified using Freenome's multiomics platform

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Freenome, a privately held biotech company, announced its co-authorship of a study with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany, a leading science and technology company. The companies presented data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting that demonstrated the combination of multiomics profiling of plasma and computational modeling may be useful in interrogating tumor and non-tumor derived signals for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in the United States. The discovery, development and validation of liquid biopsy-based clinical biomarkers help support early detection, monitoring and intervention in NSCLC patients.

Freenome's platform combines the systematic and comprehensive interrogation of both tumor and non-tumor signals with computational biology and machine learning to detect complex patterns of disease using a routine blood draw.

The study investigated the potential of plasma-derived cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating proteins as biomarkers of disease prognosis in a cohort of treatment-naive ALK/EGFR wild type patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

"This research provides even more insights on how to leverage our platform to develop more personal risk stratification to streamline patient care pathways," said Mike Nolan, chief executive officer of Freenome.

About Freenome
Freenome is a biotechnology company with a comprehensive multiomics platform for the early detection of cancer using a routine blood draw. The company combines its deep expertise in molecular biology with advanced computational biology and machine learning to detect disease-associated patterns among billions of circulating cell-free biomarkers. Freenome is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 60,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2021, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany generated sales of € 19.7 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany's technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.

SOURCE Freenome Holdings, Inc.