Quest Diagnostics Advances Precision Medicine with PD-L1 Testing Service

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, has announced that it will provide clinical laboratory testing using the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 PharmDx companion diagnostic, helping to identify patients who may benefit from new oncology immunotherapy. This move comes on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1.

Key Takeaways:

• Quest Diagnostics will provide clinical laboratory testing using the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 PharmDx companion diagnostic to help guide treatment decisions for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
• The FDA has approved Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express PD-L1.
• PD-L1 testing will be available nationally through Quest Diagnostics, allowing physicians to order the test service directly.
• Quest Diagnostics' partnership with Dako, a company within Agilent Technologies, has enabled the development of the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx test service in tandem with the expected FDA approvals.
• PD-L1 is a protein expressed on many types of cells, including some cancer cells, and is important in the interaction between the immune system and cancer cells.
• Companion diagnostics, such as PD-L1 testing, are critical to precision medicine, providing clinicians with innovations that may improve clinical care and patient outcomes.
• Quest Diagnostics offers a range of diagnostic services, including molecular testing of mutations in the EGFR, KRAS, and ALK genes associated with individual response to certain chemotherapies.

Statistics:

• More than 221,200 people are expected to be diagnosed with lung or bronchus cancer in the U.S. in 2015 (American Cancer Society).
• NSCLC, the most common form of lung cancer, is relatively resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
• The company provides several NSCLC testing services, including molecular testing of mutations in the EGFR, KRAS, and ALK genes.
• Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services.

Sources:

• Quest Diagnostics website, accessed October 2, 2015
• American Cancer Society website, accessed October 2, 2015
• Merck press release, accessed October 2, 2015
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) press release, accessed October 2, 2015
• Dako press release, accessed October 2, 2015