New England Cancer Specialists Joins Caris Precision Oncology Alliance

IRVING, Texas and SCARBOROUGH, Maine, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences®, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced today that New England Cancer Specialists (NECS) has joined Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance™. The Alliance is a collaborative network of leading cancer centers that demonstrate a commitment to precision medicine. These centers work together to advance comprehensive cancer profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology through research focused on predictive and prognostic markers that advance the clinical outcomes of patients with cancer.

NECS is widely recognized across New England as an exceptional provider of individualized cancer care, offering patients the opportunity to work with a multi-disciplinary health care team comprised of nearly half of Maine's board-certified medical oncologists. In 2019, the practice announced membership in the Dana-Farber Cancer Care Collaborative to further develop several new and existing clinical programs, including its genetic counseling offering. Recognizing the importance of genetic information in cancer care, NECS offers its patients genetic testing across more than 10 inherited cancers and cancer-related syndromes. NECS is one of only 12 practices nationwide—and the only one in Maine—named an Accredited Oncology Medical Home by the Commission on Cancer.

In addition, genetic counselors are available to patients and their families to provide guidance and support related to the incorporation of genetic and molecular testing into treatment plans as well as screening and management strategies to encourage early diagnosis and disease prevention.

"Continuous improvement of the cancer treatment landscape is inextricably tied to the individual work of oncologists working with patients at the community level," said Chadi Nabhan, M.D., MBA, FACP, Chairman of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance. "New England Cancer Specialists provides exceptional cancer care and we look forward to supporting the expansion of their molecular profiling offerings at the clinical level."

Through the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance, New England Cancer Specialists will partner with other notable cancer centers and academic institutions to broaden patient access to precision cancer care, have early access to Caris MAI™ (Molecular Artificial Intelligence) offerings, and establish evidence-based standards for cancer profiling and molecular testing in oncology. By leveraging the comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic profiling available through the Caris Molecular Intelligence® platform, physicians from NECS will be able to prioritize therapeutic options and determine which clinical trial opportunities may benefit their patients. Additionally, the institute's researchers will partner with other Alliance members to contribute and publish data as well as advance collaborative clinical trials.

"New England Cancer Specialists was founded on a collective desire to provide leading-edge, team-based cancer care throughout the region," said Dr. Christian Thomas, Director of Clinical Research at NECS. "Our partnership with the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance demonstrates our unwavering commitment to expanding the availability of precision medicine technologies like genetic testing to cancer patients in our communities."

"The Alliance encourages research and clinical collaboration at the national level so that leaders from member institutions can bring the latest insights back to their patients at the local level," said Brian J. Brille, Vice Chairman of Caris Life Sciences. "We are confident in the power of molecular profiling to optimize cancer treatment strategies and work tirelessly to increase patient access to their relevant genetic information across the country."

The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance comprises over 40 academic, hospital and community-based cancer institutions, including 16 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Caris Precision Oncology Alliance members also have access to the Caris Pharmatech oncology trial network, which can help reduce the time it takes to identify and connect appropriate patients with novel targeted cancer therapies in clinical development.

Find out more about the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance at: www.CarisLifeSciences.com/collaboration.

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. The company's suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps physicians and cancer patients make more precise and personalized treatment decisions. MI Exome^™ whole exome sequencing with 22,000 DNA genes, and MI Transcriptome^™ whole transcriptome sequencing with 22,000 RNA genes along with cancer-related pathogens, bacteria, viruses and fungi analysis run on every patient provides the most comprehensive and clinically relevant DNA and RNA profiling available on the market.

Caris is also advancing precision medicine with Caris MAI^™ (Molecular Artificial Intelligence) that combines its innovative service offerings, Caris Molecular Intelligence® with its proprietary artificial intelligence analytics engine, DEAN^™, to analyze the whole exome, whole transcriptome and complete cancer proteome. This information, coupled with mature clinical outcomes on thousands of patients, provides unmatched molecular solutions for patients, physicians, payers and biopharmaceutical organizations.

Caris Pharmatech is changing the paradigm and streamlines the clinical trial process by assisting biopharma companies with accessing research-ready oncology sites for clinical trials. With over 200 research sites within the Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time (JIT) Oncology Network, biopharma companies can identify and enroll more patients, faster. Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time Clinical Trial Solutions focus on rapid site activation and patient enrollment to streamline the drug development process. By implementing Caris' Just-In-Time Trial-Matching System, Caris will automatically match patients to clinical trials and sites can be activated and eligible to enroll patients within one week.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences has offices in Phoenix, Denver, New York, and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About New England Cancer Specialists
NECS is an independent medical oncology group including nearly half of Maine's board-certified medical oncologists. NECS physicians, nationally recognized for their expertise and experience, participate in more clinical trials than any other practice in Maine, and recently opened their first office in New Hampshire. With partnerships across the state and around the region, NECS aims to further increase the availability of and access to novel cancer therapeutics and programmatic advancements. For more information, visit http://www.newenglandcancerspecialists.org/.

Caris Life Sciences Media Contact:
Lindsey Bailys
GCI Health
[email protected]
212-798-9884

New England Cancer Specialists Media Contact:
Victoria Foley
Director of Marketing
[email protected]
207-303-3300

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

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