Response LANDS HUGE CONTRACT!!!!!!!

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Response Genetics, Inc. (RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests that help determine a patient's response to cancer therapy, today announced that it has been awarded a multi-million dollar research subcontract to support the Adjuvant Lung Cancer Enrichment Marker Identification and Sequencing Trials (ALCHEMIST). ALCHEMIST consists of 3 integrated precision medicine trials that are being implemented through the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) - a screening trial and two associated treatment trials.

The research subcontract was awarded by Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., the operations and technical support contractor for the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, which is sponsored by NCI.

ALCHEMIST will involve screening thousands of patients with resected early-stage lung cancer over a 5 to 6 year period in order to identify those patients with two specific gene changes: EGFR gene mutations and ALK gene rearrangement. Other goals of ALCHEMIST include defining biologic and molecular progression of early-stage lung cancer, evaluating two promising therapies in the adjuvant setting, and providing a public resource in which the genomic characterization of patients' tumors is tied to detailed clinical annotation, epidemiology data, and long-term outcome data. ALCHEMIST was launched today and additional information on the trials, including the NCI's announcement, can be found at: http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2014/ALCHEMISTlaunch/?cid=EBalchemistrgi_pr

"We are excited to support the ALCHEMIST clinical research effort. Response Genetics has long been known for its deep expertise in molecular testing of lung cancers. To be a part of such a large initiative aimed to advance molecular profiling is a validation of our commitment to provide the highest quality molecular diagnostics delivered with best-in-class turnaround time," noted Response Genetics' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas A. Bologna. "Moreover, ALCHEMIST represents our continuing commitment to research that connects molecular features with therapy response prediction, a tradition that has been a hallmark of Response Genetics since its inception."

Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-Principal Investigator for the ALCHEMIST screening trial added, "As an organization with a focus on lung cancer genomics and an interest in facilitating clinical research, Response Genetics is a good choice to perform the central genotyping for ALCHEMIST. The Response Genetics team has been an asset on another lung cancer trial I lead which studies inherited EGFR mutation, and I am confident they will add value to this important program."

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal Funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. HHSN261200800001E. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.