SciGenom Labs, a Genomics R&D company launched its cancer panel tests and its product OncoMD. The cancer panel tests are for detection of somatic mutation status that will provide actionable information to patients at cancer risk and doctors for drug response.

The company has developed an assay that will test a panel of 25 genes in patient tumors for presence of mutations using Next Generation Sequencing technologies. This will bring the cost down by 80 per cent as compared to single genes. An Actionable clinical report can be generated using an annotation system based on SciGenom’s proprietary OncoMD mutation database. It has developed BRCA1 and BRCA 2 tests that will predict the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Cancer Panel tests for 25 genes and BRCA1 and BRAC 2 are now available for order through physicians. These tests will be available in the market through its business division MedGenome.

“These tests have been developed based on published research and our own internal studies and are tailored to test individuals for single nucleotide variations (SNP). It provides information about risk for disease, drug response and presence of deleterious germ line variations. We have also developed assays that test for presence of actionable cancer mutations. The tests are targeted at the individual and clinicians to enable them access to information for timely and informed treatment options as also for pharma companies for drug response,” said Sam Santhosh, CEO, SciGenom.

OncoMD will assist oncologists, research institutes and clinical laboratories. The product catalogues somatic mutations from high-throughput cancer sequencing studies and peer reviewed publications. The data once verified for its integrity is made available to end-users through OncoMD's web interface. This information can be used to assess and annotate cancer genome sequence data. The catalogue of somatic mutation data available would be a valuable source for finding recurring and actionable protein altering changes in the genome. It will also allow comparison of newly sequenced patient cancer genomes to detect changes that potentially function as drivers. It would enable clinicians to match specific patient with appropriate drugs facilitating personalized treatment. It will also aid pharmaceutical companies in patient selection for clinical trials, he stated.