Innovative technology will provide unparalleled insights into cancer tumors, enabling personalized cancer treatment strategies for fire fighters, a population whose risk of death from cancer is significantly higher than the general population
CULVER CITY, Calif.–Mar. 10, 2017– NantHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ-GS: NH), a next-generation, evidence-based, personalized healthcare company, announced today that the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has endorsed GPS Cancer, a comprehensive, molecular profile, as a valuable benefit that will be accessible for approximately 310,000 IAFF members across the United States and Canada.
Cancer is now the leading cause of death for fire fighters nationwide. Sixty (60) percent of the names added to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Walls in Colorado Springs since 2002 are IAFF members who have died from occupational cancers. Fire fighters are diagnosed with cancer at a higher rate than the general population and deaths from cancer have increased significantly over the last 20 years. Each year, more and more fire fighters are dying from occupational cancer. As such, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act was reintroduced in the 115th Congress with the goal to study and gain a better understanding of the relationship between firefighting and cancer. In support of this registry, IAFF has advocated for continued research, the best available preventive screens, diagnostic testing and treatment options to support prevention, improve care and reduce cancer-related deaths. IAFF’s endorsement of GPS Cancer is a major step toward providing members and their physicians with the most comprehensive information available to support the best decisions for treatment for fire fighters with cancer. GPS Cancer will be made available to members in several major cities throughout 2017. Further, NantHealth and Union leadership will be working to provide coverage for all IAFF members in North America.
“The health and safety of our members has always been the top priority for our union,” said Harold Schaitberger, General President, IAFF. “Our fire fighters are exposed to harmful chemicals and toxins on a daily basis because they have committed themselves to saving and protecting civilians; however, being exposed to these substances may potentially lead to serious health complications. As such, we understand the need to provide them with more access to the most advanced health treatments, especially for deadly conditions like cancer. With fire fighters at a 14% greater risk for mortality from cancer, our partnership with NantHealth to offer GPS Cancer to our members is part of our ongoing commitment to helping them improve and maintain their health.”
GPS Cancer, a unique molecular profile performed in the CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratories of NantOmics, integrates whole genome (DNA) sequencing, whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, and quantitative proteomics to provide oncologists with a comprehensive molecular profile of a patient’s cancer to inform personalized treatment strategies. GPS Cancer provides critical insights based on the unique biology of a patient’s tumor—from the DNA to the RNA to the protein. The richness of this information helps doctors to build potentially more effective treatment plans based on current drugs and active clinical trials, while enabling cancer researchers to design new clinical trials that harness the potential of the immune system.
“Cancer is impacting the lives of firefighters at a greater rate than we’ve seen in the past, making it crucial to provide them with the most advanced healthcare strategies and technology available,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder and CEO of NantHealth. “This partnership with the IAFF is key to enabling access to affordable and effective healthcare for these brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to saving others.”
About International Association of Fire Fighters
The IAFF is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and emergency services in the 21st century. With headquarters in Washington, DC, and Ottawa, Ontario, the IAFF represents approximately 310,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics in more than 3,100 affiliates. IAFF members protect more than 85 percent of the population in communities throughout the United States and Canada.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding the capabilities and anticipated utility of our GPS Cancer, including predicting patient response and resistance to therapeutics, enabling diagnoses by physicians and accelerating efforts to bring novel combinations of therapeutic agents to cancer patients. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results. Factors that may cause future results to differ materially from management’s current expectations include, among other things, that GPS Cancer may not perform as anticipated, that sufficient physicians may not adopt GPS Cancer to assist their diagnoses or that healthcare payers may not provide reimbursement for GPS Cancer as expected. Our business is subject to numerous additional risks and uncertainties, including, among others, risks relating to market acceptance of our products; our ability to successfully launch new products and applications; competition; our sales, marketing and distribution capabilities; our planned sales, marketing, and research and development activities; unanticipated increases in costs or expenses; and risks associated with international operations. Information on these and additional risks, uncertainties, and other information affecting our business and operating results can be found in our existing and future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.
About NantHealth, Inc.
NantHealth, Inc., a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies, is a next-generation, evidence-based, personalized healthcare company enabling improved patient outcomes and more effective treatment decisions for critical illnesses. NantHealth’s unique systems-based approach to personalized healthcare applies novel diagnostics tailored to the specific molecular profiles of patient tissues and integrates this molecular data in a clinical setting with large-scale, real-time biometric signal and phenotypic data to track patient outcomes and deliver precision medicine. For nearly a decade, NantHealth has developed an adaptive learning system, which includes its unique software, middleware and hardware systems infrastructure that collects, indexes, analyzes and interprets billions of molecular, clinical, operational and financial data points derived from novel and traditional sources, continuously improves decision-making and further optimizes our clinical pathways and decision algorithms over time. For more information please visit www.nanthealth.com and follow Dr. Soon-Shiong on Twitter @DrPatSoonShiong.
About GPS Cancer™
GPS Cancer™ is a unique, molecular scan available through NantHealth. GPS Cancer integrates whole genome (DNA) sequencing, whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing, and quantitative proteomics through mass spectrometry, providing oncologists with a comprehensive molecular profile of a patient’s cancer and an assessment of protein pathway function to inform personalized treatment strategies. GPS Cancer scanning is conducted in CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories, and is a key enabler for Cancer Breakthroughs 2020, the world’s most comprehensive cancer collaborative initiative seeking to accelerate the potential of combination immunotherapy as the next generation standard of care in cancer patients. For more information, visit www.gpscancer.com.