Stratify Genomics Announces Formation of Its Scientific Advisory Board

San Diego’s Stratify Genomics, Inc. announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board: Dr. Gerald Andriole of Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Christopher Kane and Dr. Karim Kader of UC San Diego Health, and Dr. Franklin Gaylis of Genesis Health Partners. Their flagship product, Prompt®, is based on a decade of work, hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding and has been validated in over 10,000 men in some of the most important prostate cancer trials and indirectly validated in over 100,000 men. The test incorporates the genetic information from dozens of prostate cancer-risk associated SNPs.
Prompt®, a test to evaluate a man’s genetic predisposition to prostate cancer, designed to provide knowledge of an individual’s baseline prostate cancer risk, which is critical to an informed conversation regarding the risks/benefits of screening.There are 35,000 men annually who are unaware of a curable form of clinically significant prostate cancer. Relying solely on family history, 80% of cases would be missed. The most common screening tool, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), has declined in usage due to controversial guidelines, leading to a significant increase in metastatic prostate cancer.
“Prostate cancer screening rates are on the decline, at the same time we are seeing an increase in the numbers of patients presenting with incurable disease,” says A. Karim Kader, MD, PhD Founder, Head of Urologic Oncology at University of California, San Diego. “Our genetic test can help identify those men at highest risk to Prompt® them and their physicians to take action by getting screened and treated before it is too late.”Prompt® can take the guesswork out of the decision to have a PSA screening. Rather than screening all men based on family history, Prompt® offers a stable, objective measure, including family history, of lifetime risk of prostate cancer. Clinicians can focus screening efforts on men with the greatest risk and better inform patients of their individualized risk. This test, performed with a cheek swab, at any age, can help men know their individual risk and may identify high-risk men.Focusing PSA screening on men at higher risk, the healthcare system could realize billions of dollars in costs savings annually, with tens of thousands of men potentially saved from developing metastatic prostate cancer.