Caris Life Sciences: 2022 Arizona Bioscience Company of the Year
Channel: AZ Bio
Date: 03/10/2022

Combining Molecular Science and Artificial Intelligence to Revolutionize Cancer Care

For nearly 15 years, Caris Life Sciences® (Caris) has been pioneering the field of precision medicine in oncology by testing, sequencing and analyzing cancer tumors at the molecular level in order to validate diagnoses and treatment options for physicians and patients. 
Having built the industry’s most informative and distinctive platform for analyzing cancers differently, and offering the most advanced and comprehensive tumor profiling available (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing), Caris arms physicians with the clarity and guidance they need to accurately diagnose and treat each individual patient’s cancer. The science behind molecular profiling has made significant progress, and Caris’ extensive dataset – generated through the sequencing of hundreds of thousands of cancer patients over the past decade – is contributing to the understanding of the molecular composition of cancer, leading to more advanced, tailored and effective treatments. 

In December of 2017, Caris acquired the Molecular Profiling Institute (MPI), the first spinoff of Phoenix’s International Genomics Consortium and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).  At the time, David D. Halbert, CEO and chairman of Caris Diagnostics stated, “This acquisition of MPI demonstrates our commitment to deliver health improvement by advancing the commercialization of personalized medicine.” 

Today, Caris is the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize healthcare and improve patient outcomes. 

With a primary focus on cancer, Caris’ suite of market-leading tissue-based molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps patients, physicians and researchers better detect, diagnose and treat patients. 

In 2022, the company announced the release of Caris Assure™, a blood-based molecular profiling assay that combines comprehensive molecular analysis (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing from blood) and serial monitoring – making it the most powerful liquid biopsy assay ever developed. 

“We have applied the same industry leading, multi-cancer profiling technology used in our tissue assay to blood,” said David Spetzler, M.S., Ph.D., MBA, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Caris. “Our broad, 22,000 gene WES and WTS analysis ensures we render the most accurate results and findings for physicians seeking to properly diagnose, treat and monitor cancer patients. We are excited to bring this assay to the market and provide physicians with a new and comprehensive multi-cancer blood assay to add to their cancer diagnoses and treatment strategies.”
In April, Caris cut the ribbon on a new liquid biopsy laboratory that will create hundreds of new bioscience job opportunities in Phoenix. The state-of-the-art lab is one of the largest high-throughput sequencing facilities in the world and will provide profiling on blood specimens for up to 1,500 patients per day. This is the company’s third Arizona lab and brings the company’s total lab facility footprint in the state to approximately 160,000 sq. ft. This $45 million investment in the company’s laboratory facilities will enable the company to continue to develop and launch its blood-based diagnostic assay, Caris Assure™.

“Caris Life Sciences was founded with a very simple but powerful purpose – to help improve the lives of as many people as possible. With transformative technologies, we are revolutionizing precision medicine to provide physicians and patients with the highest quality information about their health. Through tireless efforts, breakthrough molecular science and a passionate commitment to quality, we remain steadfastly focused on the most important part of our work – the patient,” shared Halbert, Caris’ Chairman, Founder and CEO.

For their steadfast commitment to health innovation and the impact they are making on improving patient care, Caris Life Sciences is being honored as the 2022 Arizona Bioscience Company of the Year. 

SOURCE:  AZBio