Genomic Health and the Almac Group have announced a partnership to develop a multi-gene test that will help identify candidates for DNA damage-based chemotherapy drugs, such as anthracycline-based regimens, in breast cancer treatment. Genomic Health will exclusively license Almac’s technology and intellectual property for an initial payment of $9 million, with royalties to follow once the test is finalized for commercial use.

Anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens are a common method to treat breast cancer, but their high toxicity levels may impact long-term quality of life. Eligible patients are typically identified based on their age, tumor grade and size, and comorbidities, as well as a high Oncotype DX score, but these factors may not represent accurate predictors of successful outcomes. According to Genomic Health, the test currently in development could offer a more precise indicator of which patients would find anthracycline-based treatments effective.

“Over the past 10 years Oncotype DX has played a critical role in predicting benefit of chemotherapy, in general, for more than 400,000 estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer patients,” said Steven Shak, MD, executive vice president of research and development for Genomic Health. “This new test may address another unmet need by providing additional information specific to the benefit from anthracycline-based regimens for high-risk patients and possibly those with triple negative breast cancer as well.”

For more information, visit Genomic Health