Freenome Presents Research Highlighting its Multiomics Blood Testing Platform in PREEMPT CRC

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Freenome, a privately held biotech company, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers (ASCO GI) symposium last week. The presentation¹ described the development of Freenome's multiomics blood test for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) and advanced adenomas, and recruitment for its clinical validation study, PREEMPT CRC.

Freenome's multiomics approach combines both tumor and non-tumor signals from DNA and protein and uses machine learning to detect CRC and advanced adenomas.

PREEMPT CRC, is a large, multi-center study of average risk participants that uses both traditional and virtual recruitment to ensure a diverse and representative clinical trial population. The study, with >30,000 participants, is the largest prospective study for a noninvasive test for CRC screening in an average-risk population, with enrollment closing later this quarter.

PREEMPT CRC builds on results from a previous prospective, multi-center North American study² with average-risk participants that demonstrated Freenome's platform detected early-stage (I/II) CRC with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 94%.

"Screening can detect cancer when it's treatable and even preventable," said Aasma Shaukat, M.D., MPH, and director of outcomes research for the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at New York University Langone Health. "Unfortunately, many people still don't get screened, which is why having a high performing test that's convenient and accessible could have such an impact."

Currently, only 67% of average-risk individuals over the age of 50 are up to date on CRC screening,³ which is likely to decrease even more with new guideline changes lowering the age to initiate CRC screening from 50 to 45.

"People from all communities are affected by cancer, so it is important that our clinical trials reflect that understanding," said Mike Nolan, chief executive officer of Freenome. "This presentation shows that despite a global pandemic, we've been able to recruit a diverse and representative study population, ensuring our test is designed for everyone - so we can save more lives."

About Freenome

Freenome is a biotechnology company with the most comprehensive multiomics platform for early cancer detection 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.

¹Girish Putcha, Jeff Gregg, Chuanbo Xu, Freenome Holdings, Inc.; Aasma Shaukat, University of Minnesota; Theodore R. Levin, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
²Girish Putcha, Tzu-Yu Liu, Eric Ariazi, Marvin Bertin, Adam Drake, Michael Dzamba, Greg Hogan, Steven Kothen-Hill, Jeffrey Liao, Kang Li, Shivani Mahajan, Krishnan K. Palaniappan, Poonam Sansanwal, John St. John, Peter Ulz, Nathan Wan, Hayley Warsinske, David Weinberg, Rui Yang and C. Jimmy Lin, Freenome Holdings, Inc.
³Joseph DA, King JB, Dowling NF, Thomas CC, Richardson LC. Vital Signs: Colorectal Cancer Screening Test Use — United States, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:253–259.

SOURCE Freenome Holdings, Inc.