Agendia Announces Colorectal Cancer Collaboration With AstraZeneca and The Netherlands Cancer Institute

Amsterdam and Irvine, California (ots/PRNewswire) -
Agendia, an innovative molecular cancer diagnostics company, today
announced that it has partnered with AstraZeneca and The Netherlands
Cancer Institute (NKI) to accelerate the development of targeted
therapies for colorectal cancer patients. The announcement marks a
unique collaboration between Agendia, developer of the "MammaPrint"
breast cancer molecular diagnostic test, a major research-based
pharmaceutical company and a leading national cancer institute to
tackle a cancer that results in approximately 500,000 deaths annually
in Europe and the United States.

"In AstraZeneca and NKI, we have found two partners who have long
been committed to developing innovative therapies to fight colorectal
cancer," said Bernhard Sixt, CEO and cofounder of Agendia. "Agendia,
NKI and AstraZeneca are working together to identify specific
molecular subtypes in colorectal cancer. Thus, the collaboration has
the potential to benefit not only the direct participants, but also
the scientific community as a whole on the basis of providing a much
greater understanding of the various disease types in the colorectal
field. A key feature of this collaboration is that personalized
medicine diagnostics may be developed far earlier in the development
of new drugs than has previously been possible. Our collaboration
marks a continued shift in how we think about companion diagnostics
and how they will be developed in the years to come."

As part of the collaboration, Agendia will provide molecular
data, bioinformatics support and diagnostic expertise to assist
AstraZeneca in defining subpopulations within colorectal cancer, with
a view to providing the basis for discovery and development of novel
medicines suited to individual disease types in the area of
colorectal cancer. Agendia's participation follows its success with
the "Symphony" breast cancer genomic profile, which includes
MammaPrint(R), the first and only FDA-cleared breast cancer
recurrence assay.

"AstraZeneca is committed to pursuing new and innovative
collaborations to accelerate the delivery of promising therapies to
patients, thus we are pleased to have partnered with two
organizations that bring complementary and world-leading capabilities
to our colorectal cancer programs", said George Orphanides, Head of
the Colorectal Cancer Disease Area at AstraZeneca. "Researchers have
known for some time that there are different subtypes of colorectal
cancer. The aim of this collaboration is to develop new therapies
tailored to specific groups of colorectal cancer patients."

"Building on our discoveries in breast cancer, we have identified
distinct molecular subtypes in colorectal cancer, each responding
differently to various therapies," said Rene Bernards, professor of
molecular carcinogenesis at NKI and cofounder of Agendia. "Along with
our new partners, we aim to indentify drivers of the oncogenic
process in each of these subtypes."

About Agendia

Agendia (http://www.Agendia.com) is an innovative molecular
diagnostic company, striving to develop more effective,
individualized treatments within reach of patients. Building on a
genomics platform for tumor gene expression profiling, the company's
tests help physicians more accurately select a course of cancer
treatment for their patients. Agendia markets four products, with
several new genomic tests under development. In addition, Agendia
collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to develop companion
diagnostic tests in the area of oncology. Agendia is based in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands and in Irvine, California.

ots Originaltext: Agendia B.V.
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