Agendia, Inc., a world leader in personalized medicine and molecular cancer diagnostics, congratulates its co-founder and Chief Research Officer, Professor Laura van ‘t Veer, Ph.D., on winning the European Cancer Organization’s (ECCO) Clinical Research Award for innovation in breast cancer diagnosis, and the development of diagnostics for implementation in daily clinical practice, including treatment guidelines, regulatory policies and reimbursement.
The ECCO Clinical Research Award is presented biannually, during the ECCO European Cancer Congress, in recognition of the contribution to the integration of scientific research and clinical practice in the field of cancer. Dr. Laura van ‘t Veer received the award jointly with Emiel Rutgers, MD, Ph.D., breast surgeon at the Netherlands Cancer Institute at a ceremony on Sunday 29 January at the opening of the third day of the ECCO2017 Congress in Amsterdam.
Dr. Laura van ‘t Veer is one of the inventors of MammaPrint® 70-Gene Breast Cancer Risk-of-Recurrence Assay which assesses the likelihood of metastatic recurrence. By identifying women who are at low genomic risk of disease recurrence, and therefore at little or no benefit from chemotherapy, the assay assists physicians and their patients around the world in choosing the most appropriate treatment regimen, and sparing many from suffering unnecessary side effects.
Evidence of MammaPrint’s potential to transform international clinical practice was recently published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine following the positive outcome of the MINDACT trial, a phase 3, prospective, randomized trial including nearly 7,000 patients, across 112 institutions in nine European countries. Martine Piccart, MD, Ph.D., a previous winner of the ECCO Clinical Research Award in 2009, was a co-principal investigator of the trial.
Dr. Laura van ‘t Veer, co-founder and Chief Research Officer of Agendia, and Professor at the University of California, San Francisco said: "I am very proud to accept this joint award with Emiel Rutgers. We have seen the initial research in this field grow from an idea, to a market-leading gene-expression test, the clinical benefit of which is supported by the highest level of evidence. As a result, women of all ages with early-stage breast cancer are now able to make informed decisions about their treatment based on whether or not they will benefit from chemotherapy. We still have work to do, but for me, that is the real reward."
Mark Straley, Chief Executive Officer of Agendia said: "We congratulate Laura on receipt of this prestigious international award. ECCO’s recognition of the patient benefit of MammaPrint, its clinical utility, which is underpinned by the MINDACT trial, and the unmet medical need that it addresses is a fitting tribute to Laura’s trailblazing research and her dedication to improving outcomes for women with early stage breast cancer."
In addition to the ECCO Clinical Research Award, Dr. Laura van ‘t Veer was awarded the coveted European Inventor Award in the Small and Medium Enterprises Category from the European Patent Office in 2015 for MammaPrint, the European Union Women Innovator Award second prize in 2014, and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Lifetime Achievement Award for Translational Research in Breast Cancer in 2007.
About Agendia
Agendia is a privately held, leading molecular diagnostics company that develops and markets genomic diagnostic products, which help support physicians with their complex treatment decisions. Agendia’s breast cancer tests were developed using an unbiased gene selection by analyzing the complete human genome. Our offerings include MammaPrint®, a 70-Gene Breast Cancer Risk-of-Recurrence test, and BluePrint®, a molecular subtyping assay that provides deeper insight leading to more clinically actionable breast cancer biology.
In addition, Agendia has a pipeline of other genomic products in development. The company collaborates with pharmaceutical companies, leading cancer centers and academic groups to develop companion diagnostic tests in the area of oncology.
For more information on Agendia or the MammaPrint and BluePrint tests, you can visit Agendia’s patient site at www.KnowYourBreastCancer.com or the corporate site at www.agendia.com.
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About MammaPrint
MammaPrint is a FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic test, performed in a central laboratory, using the gene expression profile of breast cancer tissue samples to assess a patients’ risk for distant metastasis within 5 years. MammaPrint also carries the CE Mark which certifies the use of the test in the European Union. MammaPrint is indicated for use by physicians as a prognostic marker only, along with other clinical-pathological factors. The test is not intended to determine the outcome of disease, nor to suggest or infer an individual patient’s response to therapy.
About MINDACT
MINDACT was a collaboration between the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Breast International Group (BIG). A unique phase 3 prospective, randomized, controlled study of 6,693 patients recruited across 112 European cancer centers, the MINDACT trial showed that 46% of breast cancer patients considered for chemotherapy, whose tumors were classified MammaPrint Low Risk, had excellent survival without chemotherapy, and could thus be candidates to avoid this toxic therapy.
The trial provided the highest level of clinical evidence (Level 1A) and confirmed the clinical utility of using Agendia’s MammaPrint 70-Gene Breast Cancer Recurrence Assay to help predict clinical outcome in women with early-stage breast cancer.
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