Blood test provides simple way to test patients comprehensively for tumor alterations that drive selection of targeted therapies, now including ENHERTU
Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Guardant360® CDx liquid biopsy test as a companion diagnostic (CDx) to select patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have activating HER2 (ERBB2) mutations for treatment with ENHERTU® (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki), a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC) jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca.
The approval means that Guardant360 CDx, a next generation sequencing (NGS)-based assay that detects genomic alterations using circulating tumor DNA from blood, is validated as a CDx assay to identify NSCLC patients who have an activating HER2 mutation (SNVs and exon 20 insertions) and may benefit from treatment with ENHERTU. Mutations in the HER2 gene, also called ERBB2, drive approximately 2-4% of non-squamous NSCLC.1 Non-small cell lung cancer represents about 82% of all lung cancer,2 which is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.3
“This is great news for metastatic NSCLC patients with activating HER2 mutations, who now have, for the first time, an approved treatment for their cancer, but also the first blood-based companion diagnostic in Guardant360 CDx,” said Helmy Eltoukhy, Guardant Health co-CEO. “We are proud to offer our Guardant360 CDx liquid biopsy as a companion diagnostic so that patients can access comprehensive genomic profiling to see if they are eligible to receive this therapy.”
Guardant360 CDx
For oncologists, the FDA-approved Guardant360 CDx test provides comprehensive genomic results from a simple blood draw in seven days, helping them move beyond the limitations of tissue biopsies to rapidly obtain clinically relevant information in time to match patients to the optimal personalized treatment. Guardant360 CDx covers all genes recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, including those most relevant to clinical care and NSCLC treatment guidelines.
Since being introduced as a laboratory developed test (LDT), the Guardant360 test has become widely accepted for blood-based comprehensive genomic profiling with more than 300 peer-reviewed publications. It has been trusted by more than 12,000 oncologists, with more than 300,000 tests performed to date, and is broadly covered by Medicare and many private payers, representing over 200 million lives.
About Guardant Health
Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. The Guardant Health oncology platform leverages capabilities to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs across all stages of the cancer care continuum. Guardant Health has commercially launched Guardant360®, Guardant360 CDx, Guardant360 TissueNext™, Guardant360 Response™, and GuardantOMNI® tests for advanced stage cancer patients, and Guardant Reveal™ for early-stage cancer patients. The Guardant Health screening portfolio, including the Shield™ test, aims to address the needs of individuals eligible for cancer screening. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding the potential utilities, values, benefits and advantages of Guardant Health’s liquid biopsy tests or assays, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors. These and additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Guardant Health’s financial and operating results and cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release include those discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation” and elsewhere in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in its other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Guardant Health as of the date hereof, and Guardant Health disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements provided to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Guardant Health’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
References
- Li, Bob T., et al. Trastuzumab deruxtecan in HER2-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer. New England Journal of Medicine 386.3 (2022):241-251.
- Cancer.net. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/lung-cancer-non-small-cell/statistics. Accessed online August 10, 2022.
- CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/update-on-cancer-deaths/index.htm#:~:text=Lung%20cancer%20is%20the%20leading,24%25%20of%20all%20cancer%20deaths. Accessed online August 10, 2022.
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Contacts
Investor Contact:
Alex Kleban
investors@guardanthealth.com
+1 657-254-5417
Media Contact:
Michele Rest
press@guardanthealth.com
+1 215-910-2138