Caris Life Sciences Designates Levine Cancer Institute as a Caris Center of Excellence

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May 27, 2015, 06:00 ET

IRVING, Texas, May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences®, a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced it has appointed the Levine Cancer Institute, part of Carolinas HealthCare System, a center of excellence site in the Caris Centers of Excellence for Precision Medicine Network™ (Network).

Levine Cancer Institute is one of the largest cancer care providers throughout the Carolinas and treats more than 11,000 new cancer patients annually. Derek Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D., President of the Levine Cancer Institute, has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Network to help guide the development of standards for tumor profiling and research protocols integrating tumor profiling. Additionally, Edward Kim, M.D., Department Chair of Solid Tumor Oncology at Levine Cancer Institute, will also join the Network Steering Committee.

"We are excited to welcome Levine Cancer Institute to the Network. As one of the most well-respected and largest cancer networks in the country, based in a system of 39 hospitals, Levine Cancer Institute brings a wealth of oncology expertise and innovative approaches to personalized medicine," said Dr. John Marshall, Chairman of the Network, Professor of Medicine and Oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. "I am very pleased that we are able to round out the Network leadership team with a broad range of experts at such a rapid pace. The Network is at the forefront of a paradigm shift in oncology and will assume a leadership role in transitioning the promise of precision medicine into a reality."

As a Network member, Levine Cancer Institute will actively participate in the development of standards of care and best practices for integrating and utilizing molecular profiling in oncology practice, while also striving to increase widespread adoption and patient access to personalized medicine in clinical settings. Levine Cancer Institute will also leverage Caris' multiple-technology tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence®, to further the Institute's practice of precision medicine by identifying therapy options and clinical trial opportunities based on the unique characteristics of a patient's tumor.

"We are excited to join the Caris Centers of Excellence Network effort, whereby collaborating with other large healthcare organizations, we can provide increasingly powerful and timely personalized information to aid physicians in making difficult therapy decisions," said Raghavan. "The multi-omic approach, equips our physicians with the most up-to-date molecular data for our patients, enhancing therapy selection, clinical trial participation and furthering our understanding of the biology of patient tumors."

Caris Molecular Intelligence, a service that correlates molecular data from a tumor with biomarker and drug associations from the latest clinical and scientific cancer literature, is the key technology platform used across the Network to enable the delivery of precision medicine. This information is used to 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 based on the unique molecular characteristics of an individual patient's cancer. The Caris Molecular Intelligence system uses multiple technology platforms combined with sophisticated bioinformatics to develop clinically actionable reports for more than 70,000 patients to date.

About Caris Life Sciences®

Caris Life Sciences® is a leading biotechnology company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. Caris Molecular Intelligence®, the company's healthcare information and comprehensive tumor profiling service with more than 70,000 patients profiled, provides oncologists with the most clinically actionable treatment options available to personalize cancer care today. Using a variety of advanced profiling technologies to assess relevant biological changes in each patient's tumor, Caris Molecular Intelligence connects biomarker data generated from a tumor with biomarker-drug associations supported by evidence in the relevant clinical literature. Since 2009, Caris has tracked clinical and outcome data for certain patients undergoing tumor molecular profiling, for which Caris has observed that patients treated with drugs consistent with their molecular profile show a significant increase in overall survival. The company is developing its Carisome® TOP™ technology, a revolutionary and proprietary blood-based platform for the development of novel therapeutics, drug delivery and drug target identification. The technology is also being developed for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout Europe, the U.S., Australia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.

About Levine Cancer Institute
Levine Cancer Institute is changing the course of cancer care by establishing an electronically linked chain of cancer treatment and research centers throughout the Carolinas, with embedded clinical trials and standardized protocols, removing the barriers that separate patients from access to world-class research and breakthrough treatments. Through the latest advances in technology and by building upon Carolinas HealthCare System's strong network of affiliated hospitals and providers, the Institute is able to deliver innovative, value-driven protocols when they are needed most – so where a patient lives will not determine how they fight cancer.

About Carolinas HealthCare System
Carolinas HealthCare System (carolinashealthcare.org), one of the nation's leading and most innovative healthcare organizations, provides a full spectrum of healthcare and wellness programs throughout North and South Carolina. Its diverse network of care locations includes academic medical centers, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, physician practices, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes and behavioral health centers, as well as hospice and palliative care services. Carolinas HealthCare System works to enhance the overall health and wellbeing of its communities through high quality patient care, education and research programs, and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives.

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences