Life Technologies has won a UK Technology Strategy Board grant to fund development of a commercial multi-gene sequencing test that will provide comprehensive molecular profiles of tumours in order to identify therapy options.
University of Oxford Regius Professor of Medicine Sir John Bell said that cancer patients are fighting a progressive disease and need answers fast.
"Incomplete or incorrect diagnostic information can lead them down unproductive therapy paths," Bell said. "New DNA sequencing technology can improve the speed and accuracy of cancer care decision making. This consortium will help pave the way."
The company is confident that, beyond providing a platform to develop new drugs, the genomic test will also bring significant economic benefit to the UK, as it will be commercially available to a global market.
Market analysis indicates that even if only 5% cancer patients avoided one round of ineffective therapy, more than $560 could potentially be saved.
The programme will work in partnership with Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, AstraZeneca, and Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development.
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