OSF Ventures Invests in Company with Breakthrough Cancer Test

PEORIA, Ill., May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF Ventures, a part of OSF Innovation, is investing in Paradigm Diagnostics, a leading precision medicine company that is making advancements in cancer diagnostics.

The corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare has decided to strategically invest in the Series B funding to speed expanded use of its flagship product, the Paradigm Cancer Diagnostic PCDx ™ test. The breakthrough technology assists physicians in targeting each patient's specific tumor pathways and genomic changes in aggressive or complicated cancers within three to five business days.

Paradigm also recently published results of a study showing the test's unique ability to get comprehensive, actionable results from tumors so small, they previously could not be tested for a definitive cancer diagnosis and treatment protocol.

OSF Ventures joined six other venture groups in the Paradigm Diagnostics investment opportunity.  Paradigm's newly upgraded PCDx test includes next generation sequencing that evaluates gene mutations in a person's DNA to identify the best evidence-based treatments to improve survival.

The test results provided to doctors are matched to FDA approved therapies and standards of care in the most recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines as well as clinical trial options. Novel therapies are ranked in the report based on the level of evidence that they improve patient outcomes.

"Paradigm's focus on rapidly helping the patient and oncologist find the best solutions, especially in our network, dovetails nicely with our mission to help accelerate innovative companies that enhance the quality of care," said Stan Lynall, vice president of OSF Ventures.

Lynall believes Paradigm Diagnostics offers cutting edge technology unlike competitors.

"I see as a real differentiator the company's ability to provide results of cancer genomic profiling and therapeutic information in five business days or less to better support patient care. When you put that in the context of late-stage cancer, that's important," according to Lynall.

Lynall and OSF HealthCare oncologists who consulted with the OSF Ventures team also believe the ability to test a tissue sample size as small as a grain of rice, using a single microscope slide or fine needle aspirate, makes Paradigm a leader in the industry.

David Mallery is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Paradigm Diagnostics. He helped lead efforts to support the biospecimen and clinical data collection for the National Cancer Institutes' flagship project – The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which comprehensively catalogued the molecular drivers of cancer to open a new era of discovery to better prevent, diagnose and treat all forms of the disease.

Mallery says having a health care system in the mix with other venture capital firms is significant.

"OSF Ventures' backing represents support from one of the most highly respected health systems in the country," said Mallery. He added, "We are excited to have the clinical expertise and financial support to help expand the use of our revolutionary diagnostic test that offers quick results with targeted treatment recommendations. This advancement offers hope to many more late-stage cancer patients who've had to experience a devastating diagnosis."

OSF Ventures specializes in venture optimization, partnering financially and operationally in companies that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to health care systems. OSF Ventures is a division of OSF HealthCare. More at www.osfventures.org. 

OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria, is owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, and consists of nearly 21,000 employees in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals, 11 Centers for Health and 15 OSF PromptCares throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF Innovation, ranked among the top 10 innovation centers in the country, is located in Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center. Launched in 2016, OSF Innovation is a multidisciplinary innovation center focused on internal and external innovation to solve the largest health care challenges. More at www.osfinnovation.org and www.osfhealthcare.org.

Paradigm Diagnostics – is an innovative precision medicine company that leverages technology, bioinformatics and proprietary sequencing to perform the Paradigm Cancer Diagnostic (PCDx) that comprehensively identifies the best evidence-based treatments that may improve a cancer patient's progression free survival.  Paradigm is disruptive in that it delivers results substantially quicker (3-5 business days) and is able to provide comprehensive next-generation sequencing (NGS) results including mutational load off of a single slide.  In an independent prospective study, using PCDx to help guide treatment decisions has been clinically proven to significantly increase progression free survival.
More at www.paradigmdx.com.

Contact: Colleen Reynolds| Media Relations Coordinator OSF HealthCare| (309) 825-7255

SOURCE OSF Ventures

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