Leading Biosciences Company’s 2010 Performance Characterized by Cutting-Edge Technology Advancements and Significant Growth
IRVING, TX, January 18, 2011 — Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest-quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, today announced key highlights of its 2010 performance. The importance of high-quality diagnosis in driving patient care was underscored by the company’s significant growth. Caris’ progress sets the stage to have a transformative influence on healthcare in 2011, through the introduction of blood tests for the early detection of cancer and other complex diseases, based on its revolutionary Carisome™ circulating microvesicle (cMV) technology.
Specific highlights from 2010 include:
Corporate Growth:
Caris’ focus on providing patients and physicians with the highest-quality diagnostic services has fueled rapid increases in patients diagnosed and job creation at the company. This growth includes:
- Performed high-quality diagnosis of more than 800,000 patients, for an overall case volume increase of 20% compared to 2009.
- Increased Caris’ Target Now™ molecular profiling cases by 300%. This novel service has now helped inform treatment decisions for 15,000 patients since its 2008 introduction. Currently, more than 1,000 patients each month receive this novel and personalized profile of their tumor.
- CarisPath™ Gastrointestinal (GI) pathology and Dermatopathology cases increased 13% and 28% respectively, further entrenching Caris’ leadership position.
- Employee base reached 1,100, a growth of 34% over year-end 2009.
Service Line Expansion:
Caris brings a long-standing commitment to new technologies that bring precise and targeted diagnostics, prognostics and theranostics to physicians and their patients. During 2010, this commitment was manifest across all three principal service lines:
Carisome Microvesicle Technology
- Introduced the first in a series of tests using the patented Carisome™ circulating microvesicle (cMV) technology. Carisome Prostate cMV 1.0, a highly sensitive and specific aid in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in men with an elevated PSA, was made available to select Urology practices in late 2010. A broad commercial roll-out of this groundbreaking test is planned in early 2011.
CarisPath Expert Pathology Services:
- Introduced CarisPath Urologic Pathology Services.
- Launched significant technology enhancements in both Dermatopathology and GI pathology services, including the introduction of a new special testing protocol that aids in the detection of Lynch syndrome in patients who would otherwise be missed, as well as a breakthrough molecular technology to distinguish benign moles from melanoma, a notoriously difficult area of dermatopathology.
Caris Target Now Molecular Profiling:
- Launched a new molecular profile for breast cancer, encompassing 14 new breast cancer biomarkers, providing physicians the latest cutting-edge information to help guide individualized therapeutic decisions.
- Enhanced the process to assess and grade the medical evidence powering Caris Target Now with more than 85,000 clinical papers analyzed and greater than 7000 decision rules incorporated.
Research & Development:
Caris’ scientific and medical experts are dedicated to their specialties and to contributing to the advancement of science and improved patient care worldwide. 2010 highlights of this dedication include:
- Accelerated development of the revolutionary Carisome circulating microvesicle (cMV) technology for early diagnosis of prostate, breast, colorectal and lung cancer.
- Launched the Caris Registry and Caris Biorepository, which represent a centralized, real-time data repository and tissue bank through which physicians and patients can participate in the advancement of personalized cancer care and contribute to science by analyzing patients’ tumors and monitoring their progress over time.
- Received Journal of Clinical Oncology validation for Caris Target Now, as this published study demonstrated that personalized cancer treatment tailored to a tumor’s unique genetic make-up increased progression-free survival (PFS) in 27% of cancer patients with advanced disease, versus the patients’ most recent successful regimen.
- Published 66 research papers and abstracts in our subspecialties of GI pathology, Dermatopathology, Hematopathology, Oncology and Urologic pathology.
Expertise & Infrastructure:
In order to support the vastly increased demand for Caris’ services, 2010 investments centered on increasing the company’s expert personnel and infrastructure. These investments included:
- Increased medical staff to 80 pathologists, including the addition of academic-caliber specialists from the world’s leading institutions, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard and UT Southwestern Medical Center.
- Expanded into Europe, marked by rapid scaling to take advantage of significant opportunities in the region.
- Opened new 172,000 square-foot corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas, featuring a state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic and anatomic pathology laboratory.
- Tripled square footage in the Phoenix location, including a new cutting-edge molecular laboratory space dedicated to research and development of new tests for cancer and sophisticated assays for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“This was an important year as it was the culmination of our transition from a small anatomic pathology practice into a global life sciences company. We attracted and hired the right people to accomplish this transition. We added several essential new functions that did not exist within our company, including regulatory, intellectual property, marketing, medical affairs and clinical affairs. And, we expanded our research and development efforts and our geographic footprint internationally,” said David D. Halbert, Chairman and CEO.
“We developed a proprietary technology that creates the opportunity for accurate diagnosis early — so that we can get patients on the right treatment sooner, dramatically improving their chances for recovery,” continued Halbert. “As a result, we believe this technology will significantly contribute to the relief of suffering, which is our ultimate goal as a company. With this goal in mind, we have significantly increased our investment in the commercialization of our revolutionary Carisome circulating microvesicle technology. This groundbreaking, patented, blood-based platform will be the basis for many tests that we believe will transform healthcare by providing patients and their doctors valuable information at the earliest stages of disease – and all from a simple blood test.”
About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences, a leading biosciences company, specializes in the development and commercialization of the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic technologies, in the fields of oncology, dermatopathology, hematopathology, gastrointestinal pathology and urologic pathology. The company provides academic-caliber consultations for thousands of patients a day, through its industry-leading team of expert, subspecialty pathologists. Caris also offers advanced molecular analyses of patient samples through prognostic testing services and genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiling to assist physicians in their treatment of cancer. Currently, Caris is developing a series of blood tests utilizing the patented Carisome™ platform — a proprietary, blood-based testing technology for diagnosis, prognosis, and theranosis of cancer and other complex diseases. The company is headquartered in the Dallas metroplex, and operates laboratories at the headquarters, as well as in the Phoenix and Boston metro areas.
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Media Inquiries:
Holly Clark
Caris Life Sciences
214-596-7060
Contact Holly