BURLINGTON – Labcorp has opened a new testing program for cancer patients, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, which is also expanding its operations and footprint in North Carolina with a new facility planned in Concord and a recent land acquisition in Research Triangle Park.

But the sponsored program, which Labcorp said in a statement would help advanced non-small cell lung (NSCLC) cancer patients and their physicians make more informed treatment and care decisions due to the “genomic insights” yielded through program participation.

According to Labcorp, the new initiative uses an existing Labcorp test, the OmniSeq INSIGHTSM test.  This test, said Labcorp in a statement, is “a pan-cancer, tissue-based sequencing test, to provide comprehensive genomic and immune profiling for cases that meet eligibility criteria.”

Part of the program will increase awareness and access to testing options for patients.

“Comprehensive genomic and immune profiling allows for a much more extensive investigation into biomarkers that can lead to more effective treatment options, access to new clinical trials, and better patient outcomes,” said Prasanth Reddy, M.D., MPH, senior vice president and oncology head at Labcorp, in a statement. “With OmniSeq INSIGHT testing, people across the country living with lung cancer may be able to receive therapies or be informed of clinical trials that otherwise may not have been available because their specific biomarkers or gene mutations were not found in a single gene test.”

In late 2021, Labcorp acquired a Baltimore-based company known as PGDx in a move to bolster the company’s oncology offerings.

Labcorp buys cancer genomics firm for $450M to expand oncology offerings

Genomic profiling

Comprehensive genomic profiling enables medical providers to test for biomarkers that could be present in patients.  Rather than used single gene testing, comprehensive profiling will test for immune-related genes, yielding differentiated insights into a given tumor’s microenvironment, Labcorp said.

“By equipping oncologists, health care systems and pharmaceutical developers with data-driven insights we are bringing the promise of precision medicine within reach for all,” said Reddy.

Test results may help inform oncologists of the most appropriate targeted therapy for any given patient, the company statement noted.

“Comprehensive genomic profiling helps identify treatment options for patients to better inform targeted therapy selection.” said Anthony (Nino) Sireci, M.D., vice president clinical biomarker and diagnostics development, Loxo Oncology at Eli Lilly and Company in a statement.

Eli Lilly’s RTP campus is in Parmer RTP, which also houses a Labcorp facility that expanded its footprint in the former GSK campus in 2019.  Lilly chose Parmer RTP in May 2020 as it planned a $474 million investment to open its first North Carolina manufacturing plant.

Eli Lilly picks former GSK campus in RTP for $474M manufacturing plant