The Comprehensive Cancer Center Innsbruck Joins Caris Life Sciences' Precision Oncology Alliance as First International Member

IRVING, Texas, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences^®,a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced that the Comprehensive Cancer Center Innsbruck (CCCI) based at the University Hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, has joined Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance™ (POA) as its first international member. CCCI`s participation in the POA is intended to link them closely with the U.S. oncology community and enable use of Caris' profiling technology as their standard profiling approach. Through participation with other leading cancer centers, CCCI will help develop standards of care and best practices to advance the use of tumor profiling in Europe and worldwide.

"The addition of CCCI broadens access to tumor profiling in Europe and further enhances the ability to collectively capture molecular expression data and track patient outcomes on a larger scale. This molecular data, which includes longitudinal outcomes tracking, is the backbone of the Caris Experience and our world-class POA collaborators are diving into our data set of more than 123,000 clinical cases with thousands of associated patient outcomes," said W. Michael Korn, Chief Medical Officer of Caris Life Sciences. "I am a pleased to have CCCI join this cooperative group and I look forward to collaborating with them to refine and ensure the most clinically actionable, evidence-based approach to tumor profiling is available to cancer patients around the world."

The POA, which now consists of 19 academic, hospital and community-based cancer institutions, including five NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and its first European institution, is broadening patient access to precision medicine tools and establishing evidence-based standards for tumor profiling through outcomes tracking and data analysis. The POA, including CCCI, will leverage Caris' comprehensive genomic profiling plus (CGP+) tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence^®, to identify therapy options and clinical trial opportunities based on the unique molecular characteristics of a patient's tumor.

"We are excited to have CCCI, and Dr. Andreas Seeber as its coordinator, join our growing alliance and look forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration with their high-caliber team," said John Marshall, M.D., Director of the Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and Chairman of the POA Executive Committee. "Our alliance has seen significant growth since we launched in 2015 and the demand for precision medicine solutions from both patients and biopharmaceutical companies has dramatically increased. We look forward to continuing our work and to advance the precision medicine and molecular testing."

Caris Molecular Intelligence assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular profile to guide more precise and individualized treatment decisions. Based on the unique molecular characteristics of an individual patient's cancer, the results help inform treatment decisions by identifying therapies that have the potential to be most effective and to rule out those that are less likely to work.

"We've been working with Caris Life Sciences to prospectively profile more than 110 patients and have witnessed very impressive clinical outcomes," said Prof. Günther Gastl, M.D., Director of the Department of Hematology & Oncology at the Innsbruck Medical University. "Based on the excellent results, we are installing Caris Molecular Intelligence tumor profiling at our institution as standard profiling practice for our cancer patients. Being a member of the POA provides us access to this essential technology and allows us to collaborate with other institutions that are working toward the same objective: improving cancer patient care and outcomes."

About Caris Life Sciences^®
Caris Life Sciences^® is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation, and the world's leading immunotherapy diagnostic expert. Caris Molecular Intelligence^®, the company's Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Plus (CGP+) molecular testing service, assesses DNA, RNA and proteins, including microsatellite instability (MSI), total mutational load (TML) and PD-L1, to reveal a molecular blueprint to guide more precise and personalized treatment decisions. The ADAPT Biotargeting System^™, the company's revolutionary and unbiased profiling platform, is currently being utilized for drug target identification, therapeutic discovery and development, fixed tissue-based companion diagnostics, blood-based cancer screening and biomarker identification. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.

About the Precision Oncology Alliance™
The Precision Oncology Alliance^™ (POA) was established by Caris Life Sciences to promote the study and appropriate use of molecular testing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The POA consists of 19 leading cancer centers, including 5 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, worldwide that have demonstrated a commitment to precision medicine and work collaboratively toward a common goal: to advance tumor profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology. The POA has produced more than five peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented over 40 posters at industry conferences.

About tirol kliniken 
With more than 8,400 employees treating over 120,000 inpatients and 1.1 million outpatients each year, tirol kliniken is the largest and most diversified health care provider in western Austria. As the umbrella organization it runs three hospitals (one of them, the University Hospital of Innsbruck, together with the Medical University of Innsbruck) and several other medical service providers in Tyrol.

Media Inquiries:
The Ruth Group
Kirsten Thomas / Joanna Zimmerman
[email protected]
Tel: +1-508-280-6592 / +1-646-536-7006

tirol kliniken
Andreas Seeber, MD PhD
Department of Hematology & Oncology
Innsbruck Medical University
[email protected]

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

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