Cancer Genetics CEO says merger with NovellusDx to speed up enrollment in cancer-focused trials

Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:CGIX) CEO Jay Roberts said on Thursday the merger with NovellusDx will likely accelerate patient enrollment in cancer focused clinical trials and allow them to use machine learning/artificial intelligence in those tests.

“We intend to leverage the NovellusDx technology platform initially to complement our solutions-based offerings for bio-pharma clients to speed up patient enrollment in oncology-focused clinical trials,” Roberts said in an emailed answer to questions from Proactive Investors.

The transaction will combine Cancer Genetics’ scale, expansive test portfolio and broad data set related to tumor biology with NovellusDx’s proprietary technology and machine learning capabilities to form an oncology-focused precision medicine company.

Roberts added: “We have broad capabilities in solid tumor and hematologic tests, and have a high degree of expertise with multiple myeloma, lymphomas, lung, cervical, breast and myeloid. The combined companies strategy is being further developed, however, we are not constrained by malignancy categories.”

Shares of Cancer Genetics rose 4.6% to trade at US41.13 by midsession on Thursday.

READ: Cancer Genetics surges on back of record fourth quarter revenues

The board of directors of both companies approved the merger, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

Roberts said the combined companies ”will allow us to bring functional assays to our clients through machine learning/AI that investigates rich Next Generation Sequencing data from patient mutations in live cells and their response to drugs, thereby delivering actionable insights to biopharma, academic medical institutions and physicians treating cancer patients.”

The National Cancer Institute said the number of new cases reaches an average of 439.2 per 100,000 men and women per year, based on cases from 2011 to 2015. The number of deaths is 163.5 per 100,000 men and women, it said.

In 2018, an estimated 1.7mln  new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 609,640 people will die from the disease.

Cancer mortality is higher among men than women (196.8 per 100,000 men and 139.6 per 100,000 women). When comparing groups based on race/ethnicity and sex, cancer mortality is highest in African American men (239.9 per 100,000) and lowest in Asian/Pacific Islander women (88.3 per 100,000), the Institute said.

Cancer Genetics is a leader in enabling precision medicine in oncology from bench to bedside through the use of oncology biomarkers and molecular testing. The company is based in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Story by ProactiveInvestors