Ion Torrent has revolutionized DNA sequencing through their pioneering use of semiconductor technology and simple chemistry instead of light as an intermediary signal. Ion Torrent technology translates the chemical signals into digital information, massively increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of DNA sequencing, thus enabling applications in nucleic acid-based biomarker discovery and clinical trial support that have been heretofore unachievable.

Francois Ferre, Ph.D., CEO of AltheaDx commented that “Implementation of next-generation sequencing is a natural addition to AltheaDx’s suite of nucleic acid-based testing services, where for the past 14 years we have supported our pharma partners in over 450 studies. Furthermore, the speed and ease with which we can develop and validate new customized assay designs using the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) has completely changed our approach to supporting their translational biomarker development efforts.”

Joe Monforte, Ph.D., CSO, of AltheaDx added, “We are excited about the evolution of NGS platforms and their specific utility in the molecular pathology lab setting. We are already implementing this platform for use in clinical studies. The fact that LIFE has laid out a diagnostic path for the Ion Torrent device means that we can now push ahead several of our companion diagnostic programs based on NGS.”

Maneesh Jain, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Ion Torrent indicated that “AltheaDx was among our first early access sites and now we are very pleased to have them on board not just as an Ion Torrent Authorized Customer Service Provider for the Ion PGM, but as a partner who will help extend the boundaries of Next Generation Sequencing.”

About AltheaDx, Inc.:

AltheaDx, a leading San Diego-based diagnostic development and testing company, provides clinical biomarker discovery, assay development and validation services that support researchers worldwide in their efforts to utilize genomic information for the advancement of novel therapies. AltheaDx plays a critical role in helping pharma to discover and validate biomarkers that can predict drug response, and then to provide an efficient seamless commercialization path to bring the tests to market. The goal of AltheaDx is to reduce the time, risk, and cost of therapeutic development for pharma partners.

For more information, visit www.altheadx.com

About Life Technologies:

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company dedicated to improving the human condition. Our systems, consumables and services enable researchers to accelerate scientific and medical advancements that make life even better. Life Technologies customers do their work across the biological spectrum, working to advance the fields of discovery and translational research, molecular medicine, stem cell-based therapies, food safety and animal health, and 21st century forensics. The company manufactures both molecular diagnostic and research use only products. Life Technologies’ industry-leading brands are found in nearly every life sciences lab in the world and include innovative instrument systems under the Applied Biosystems and Ion Torrent names, as well as, the broadest range of reagents with its Invitrogen, GIBCO, Ambion, Molecular Probes and Taqman products. Life Technologies had sales of $3.6 billion in 2010, has a workforce of approximately 11,000 people, has a presence in approximately 160 countries, and possesses one of the largest intellectual property estates in the life sciences industry, with approximately 3,900 patents and exclusive licenses. For more information on how we are making a difference, please visit our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com.

CONTACT: Steven Daniel, +1-760-532-9759, sdaniel@altheadx.com

SOURCE AltheaDx

Related Links:
http://www.altheadx.com
http://www.lifetechnologies.com

In particular, poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP1 ) plays a central role in repair of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) breaks. Inhibiting PARP1 activity with small molecules reduces repair of ssDNA breaks. In the absence of PARP1, when these breaks are encountered during DNA replication, the replication fork stalls, and double-strand DNA (dsDNA) breaks accumulate. These dsDNA breaks are repaired via homologous recombination (HR) repair. It is hypothesized that PARP1 inhibitors may prove highly effective as therapies for cancers with BRCA1/2 mutations, such as ovarian cancer, due to the high sensitivity of the tumors to the inhibitor and the lack of deleterious effects on the remaining healthy cells with functioning BRCA homologous recombination pathway. This is in contrast to conventional chemotherapies, which are highly toxic to all cells and can induce DNA damage in healthy cells, leading to secondary cancer generation.

AltheaDx provides NGS services using both the Life Technologies Ion Torrent PGM™ system and the Roche 454 GS Jr™ system with a total workflow solution starting from nucleic acid isolation, target enrichment, library construction and sequencing. The workflow exploits a NGS protocol that enriches for RefSeq defined UTR and exonic regions of genes encoding DNA repair and homologous recombination enzymes using targeted selection from genomic DNA. The digital nature and large dynamic range of targeted resequencing of clinical trial samples by NGS enables comparisons of genomic variations from both germline controls and tumor samples in order to identify tumor specific genetic variations (such as BRCA1/2 and RAD51 mutations) potentially aiding in the selection of clinical trial cohorts likely to respond to targeted therapeutics (such as PARP inhibitors).

Wednesday, 5:15–6:15 pm
Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel, Commonwealth A, Grand Ballroom Level

As the pace of technology accelerates exponentially, it pushes the limits on existing business models, regulations, and policy around personalized medicine, especially in the field of oncology. This session will explore the challenges around the introduction of next generation sequencing. On the side of industry, the lack of clear business models, and indeterminacy regarding clinical acceptance of next generation sequencing, leaves major stakeholders watching from the sidelines on where value is accreting. On the side of academia, major institutions and hospitals are becoming central aggregators of diverse clinical data sets supported by powerful bioinformatics and sequencing, making them attractive business collaborators for pharma. How will value be created for early stage algorithm-based diagnostics companies to attract investments? Will value continue to remain with therapeutics, while diagnostics are positioned as loss leaders? And in the end, on the side of partnering, will pharmaceutical companies place attenuated value on diagnostics as they partner with academia to build their PM franchises? Join this thought-provoking discussion as we consider how technological disruption around diagnostics will forge surprising business partnerships with, perhaps, unlikely partners.

Moderator:
Dan Rhodes – CEO, Compendia Bioscience

Panelists:

• Kevin Krenitsky – COO, Foundation Medicine
• Joseph Monforte – Executive VP and CSO, AltheaDx
• Robert J. Penny, MD, PhD – CEO, International Genomics Consortium; Founding CEO, Molecular Profiling Institute
• Dietrich A. Stephan – Founder and CEO, Institute for Individualized Health

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 – 6:00pm – 9:00pm, La Jolla Woman’s Club, 715 Silverado Street, La Jolla CA, 92037

Event Overview:
Althea Technologies (http://www.altheatech.com/), founded in 1998, is a homegrown, leading provider of innovative services for biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Over the years, Althea Technologies has expanded its capabilities to include one of the few local FDA approved commercial manufacturing facilities. Recently, Althea Technologies acquired all assets and IP portfolio from Altus Pharmaceuticals, including technologies for sustained release protein delivery and a portfolio of product candidates based on these technologies. In 2008, Althea Technologies spun out AltheaDx (http://www.altheadx.com/) to commercialize proprietary genetic tests and services. AltheaDx provides a start-to-finish suite of services focused on molecular biomarker discovery, assay development, assay validation and prospective/retrospective clinical trial testing in support of companion diagnostic development and commercialization. AltheaDx is growing its pipeline organically as well as through partnership, for example, with Compendia Bioscience.

Drs. Magda Marquet and Francois Ferré, co-Founders of Althea Technologies and AltheaDx will share their entrepreneurial journey from academia to industry. Magda and Francois will discuss their experiences in conceiving of and executing Althea’s formation and subsequent evolution into sustainable organizations.

Speakers:
Magda Marquet, Ph.D. is founder and co-Chair of Althea Technologies, and served as its co-President and CEO for ten years. Dr. Marquet is also founder and co-Chair of AltheaDx. She has over 25 years of experience in the biotechnology industry in the US and Europe. She is a member of the Board of BIOCOM and the UCSD Moores Cancer Center. She was the winner of several awards including the 2005 Regional E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Life Sciences category. Dr. Marquet holds a Ph.D in Biochemical Engineering from INSA/University of Toulouse, France.

François Ferré, Ph.D. is the CEO and co-founder of AltheaDx. Prior to AltheaDx, Dr. Ferré co-founded Althea Technologies and served as co-CEO from 1998 until 2008. He has been a Director of Althea Technologies since December 1997. He is also a Director of Traversa Therapeutics, Biomatrica, and Chairman of the Board of Biological Dynamics. He was the winner of the 2005 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Life Sciences category. Dr. Ferré received his Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology from the Pasteur Institute in Lille, France and completed his Post-doctoral training at the UCSD.

Moderator:
Joseph Panetta is President and CEO and a member of the board of directors of BIOCOM, the southern California association that advocates for the biotechnology and biomedical device arena. As president and CEO since 1999, he has been responsible for leading BIOCOM’s efforts to position the regional life science community to achieve global success. Joe is active on various boards, business coalitions and committees. He is currently on the boards of directors the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and CONNECT. Joe is a member of advisory boards at UC San Diego, and the California State Universities and is a board member of Genlantis, a research products company. Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY and a Master of Public Health degree in Industrial and Environmental Health from the University of Pittsburgh.

About GOG

The Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative clinical trial research group funding clinical research in the field of gynecologic cancer. The purpose and mission of the GOG is to improve and expand the treatment of gynecologic cancer. These goals are met through an exchange of information on programs of study, teaching methods and research activities among gynecologic oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurse oncolo- gists, pathologists, and basic scientists. Today, GOG consists of 60 nationally known “parent” institutions, medical schools, colleges and universities with approximately 264 affiliate institutions.

Dr. Ferre further commented that “we fully expect that the new NGS systems will be highly synergistic to our directed strategy of creating cancer-specific molecular subtype panels in partnership with Compendia Bioscience. The utilization of NGS systems is also highly complementary to our RT-PCR-based gene expression panels, allowing us to capture the full breadth of genetic activity in cancer. Our adoption and implementation of these new technologies, be it PCR, microarray or NGS, fits perfectly with our pharma-focused testing services and the demand for cutting edge strategies for genetic analysis.”

AltheaDx’s CSO, Dr. Joseph Monforte, noted that “we plan to take the lead in providing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with well-characterized, predictive biomarker panels composed of both genetic polymorphisms and gene expression patterns. Our combined OncoScore™ RNA and DNA panels will provide a detailed characterization of the key molecular variables that comprise the unique genetics of each patient. It is only with this level of characterization that we will be able to identify the main factors driving therapeutic sensitivity and resistance in clinical trials.”

AltheaDx has a decade-long history in preclinical and clinical assay development and testing. With the latest PCR, microarray and sequencing platforms AltheaDx is able provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with both predefined and customized solutions for characterizing preclinical models and clinical patients at a high level of resolution on both the RNA and DNA front.

About AltheaDx, Inc.
AltheaDx, a leading diagnostic development and testing company, with San Diego-based GLP & CLIA certified laboratories, provides clinical biomarker discovery, assay development and validation services that support researchers worldwide in their efforts to utilize genomic information for the advancement of novel therapies. AltheaDx plays a critical role in helping pharma to discover and validate biomarkers that can predict drug response, and then to provide an efficient seamless commercialization path to bring the tests to market. The goal of AltheaDx is to reduce the time, risk, and cost of therapeutic development for pharma partners. For more information on how we are making a difference, please visit our website: For more information on how we are making a difference, please visit our website: www.altheadx.com. Follow AltheaDx on Twitter: @AltheaDx

About Compendia Bioscience, Inc.
Compendia Bioscience is dedicated to applying the global collection of cancer genomic data to impact patient treatment by enabling the discovery and development of better cancer diagnostics and treatments. www.compendiabio.com

For additional information please contact:
AltheaDx: Steve Daniel, sdaniel@altheadx.com
Compendia Bioscience: John Freshley, jfreshley@compendiabio.com

SOURCE AltheaDx, Inc.

He/She may analyze results and present conclusions/deviations to manager while following well defined SOP protocols. This position will be responsible for routine maintenance of laboratory equipment and will assist other technical personnel on routine issues and problems.

The Testing Assistant will assist in the research and implementation of new methods and technologies to enhance operations. He/She will initiate revisions to current SOP as necessary according to GLP guidelines. The successful candidate will maintain a GLP environment; accordingly, he/she will collect and dispose of lab wastes according to established procedures.

Requirements:
The qualified candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in a Life Sciences discipline and two to four (1-3) years relevant laboratory experience.

The candidate must have a demonstrated ability to follow detailed instructions in laboratory environment as well as the demonstrated ability to understand and apply technical concepts to testing methodology as directed by senior staff. The successful candidate must be detail oriented and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. He/She must be familiar with Microsoft Office applications.

The position demands the ability to multitask; working independently on some projects while contributing to larger projects as a part of a team.