CARIS SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES

Phil Stafford
VP, Bioinformatics

Overview: Caris Trial Solutions

Caris Life Sciences™ (Caris) is committed to advancing cancer care by developing and enabling access to cutting-edge clinical trials. Physicians and patients are connected to genomic-guided trials via the Caris Clinical Trial Connector™ and Right-In-Time Clinical Trial Solutions. Caris also collaborates with pharma and academic institutions to develop novel trials and provide molecular profiling. There are three types of trials Caris supports:

•  Partnerships. Caris works with biopharmaceutical companies or other study sponsors that have trials which require a specific molecular alteration for eligibility. Caris is able to identify patients eligible for these trials in real time. Caris also works closely with potential study sites to open trials for patients identified by Caris molecular profiling. Using this “Right in Time” approach, Caris effectively serves as the facilitator for rapidly identifying patients and opening trials to get patients directly into studies that specifically target mutations found in their cancers. As Caris develops more products and offerings, it is important that these technologies are made available to the patients who need them most.

•  Caris Developed Trials. Caris also works with a cadre of academic cancer centers to launch its own trials focused on advancing clinical precision medicine. Currently there are two large trials being developed within Caris. The first trial looks at blood-based disease monitoring in advanced cancer, while the second trial looks at minimal residual disease in the blood following surgery or definitive therapy in early cancer. These two studies have the potential to change the way cancer care is provided by allowing patients and physicians to detect recurrence or progression early and guide the treatment plans as a result. Caris also has plans to explore research opportunities in early cancer detection. Stay tuned for more information about these exciting new studies.

•  Investigator Initiated Studies. Caris supports investigators who conduct their own clinical trials. These studies can often face funding challenges even when aligned with a grant or sponsor. To assist with these challenges, Caris’ process allows investigators to request molecular testing support for their trials. Support for these types of studies is generally focused on members of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance^™ (POA) or for studies within the NCI National Clinical Trials Network Cooperative Group system. As these opportunities arise, Caris’ senior medical leadership engage in discussions with the investigator(s) to better understand the study and how Caris can support them in their endeavor. After completion of the letter of intent, the proposal is reviewed by a committee led by Caris’ Chief Medical Officer and Chief Precision Medicine Officer who then determine whether and how to support these trials.

Caris’ commitment to clinical trials and investigators extends across the continuum of clinical research. From identifying patients for trials, to protocol writing and study conduct through Caris-sponsored clinical trials, to investigator partnerships and shared support of correlative studies for investigator-initiated studies, Caris is leading the way in clinical research and trial support.