OncoCyte Corp OCX

Key Opinion Leaders in Oncology and Immune-Oncology Will Help Advance Development of Company’s Diagnostic and Monitoring Tests

IRVINE, Calif., March 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncocyte Corporation (NASDAQ: OCX), a molecular diagnostics company with a mission to provide actionable answers at critical decision points across the cancer care continuum, today announced the formation of its Medical Advisory Board (MAB) to advise the company on the development and clinical advancement of its portfolio of tests.

Comprised of thought leaders in lung, breast, colorectal and other cancers from prestigious institutions including the MD Anderson Cancer Center, UC Davis, University of Michigan, and University of Southern California, members of the MAB have collectively published and conducted thousands of peer-reviewed publications and research studies. The MAB will work closely with Oncocyte’s leadership on the development and advancement of its IO and blood-based monitoring tests, advising on clinical studies and publications as the Company works toward advancing the tests to clinical commercial launch and driving adoption as standard of care.

Chairing the MAB is David Gandara, M.D., Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine, Senior Advisor to the Director, and Director of Thoracic Oncology at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCDCCC). Dr. Gandara is a recognized authority in biomarker research and drug development in oncology, with extensive experience in translational research in lung cancer. He has led many notable research programs, serving as Chair of the Lung Committee for Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) along with his leadership role in the master protocol Lung MAP, a public-private partnership designed to bring new therapies to lung cancer patients through genomic screening. He has received many awards and honors, including the Lifetime Scientific Award from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and the Scientific Trajectory Award for the International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB). Dr. Gandara is the principal investigator for a National Cancer Institute (NCI) UG1 award to UCDCCC for Cancer Clinical Trials. Dr. Gandara has also been a Scientific and Medical Advisor to Oncocyte.

Other esteemed members of Oncocyte’s MAB include:

• Daniel F. Hayes, M.D., FASCO, FACP, Stuart B. Padnos Professor of Breast Cancer Research, Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. His research focus is on the identification and validation of tumor biomarker tests and is an authority in the field of breast cancer translational and clinical research and clinical care. Dr. Hayes has held many leadership roles in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), including a three-year Presidential term of office.
  
  
• Fred R. Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director at the Center of Thoracic Oncology in the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai (TCI) and the Joe Lowe and Louis Price Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His expertise is in translational research, targeted therapies and early detection of lung cancer. He is also Associate Director of Biomarker Discovery for TCI. Dr. Hirsch is the previous CEO of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
  
  
• Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., FACP, Associate Director for Clinical Research and Co-Leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancers Program at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Lenz is Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Section Head of GI Oncology in the Division of Medical Oncology and Co-Director of the Colorectal Center at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr. Lenz is Co-Chair of the GI Committee and Correlative Science Committee for SWOG, and is a member of the NCI Task Force for Gastroesophageal Cancer.
  
  
• Ignacio I. Wistuba, M.D., Division Head ad interim, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine, Professor and Chair, Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, and is Professor, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
  

Dr. David Gandara, Chairman of the MAB said, “Having consulted for Oncocyte over the past several years, I’ve been impressed by the scientific rigor and clinical potential for their biomarker strategy which is driving the advancement of DetermaRx™ and DetermaIO™. I look forward to working with them and my fellow board members on a potential expansion into other critical cancer indications.”

Doug Ross, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of Oncocyte said, “We are honored to have this esteemed group of medical oncology clinician scientists with particular expertise in biomarkers, join our newly formed MAB. We believe they will provide unparalleled advice as we advance DetermaIO™ through clinical studies in lung cancer and other solid tumor types, while continuing to develop novel blood-based monitoring tests as we strive to offer a complete menu of decision tools that are useful across the cancer care continuum for all solid tumors.”

About Oncocyte Corporation
Through its proprietary tests and pharmaceutical services business, Oncocyte aims to help save lives and improve outcomes by accelerating and optimizing the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Company’s tests and services present multiple opportunities to advance cancer care while also driving revenue growth for the Company. Oncocyte recently launched DetermaRx™, a test that identifies early-stage lung cancer patients who are at high risk for cancer recurrence post-resection and predicts benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Oncocyte has also launched DetermaIO™, a gene expression test that assesses the tumor microenvironment to predict response to immunotherapies, as a research use only tool for pharmaceutical and academic clinical trials. To complement DetermaIO™, the company anticipates launching DetermaTx™, a test to assess mutational status of a tumor to help identify the appropriate targeted therapy, in the second half of 2021. The Company previously announced its planned acquisition of Chronix Biomedical Inc. and its TheraSure™ CNI Monitor test, and also plans to continue with the development of DetermaMx™ as the Company seeks to expand into the blood-based monitoring market. Oncocyte’s pharmaceutical services provide pharmaceutical companies who are developing new cancer treatments a full suite of molecular testing services to support the drug development process.

DetermaRx, DetermaIO, DetermaMx, and DetermaTx are trademarks of Oncocyte Corporation. Therasure is a trademark of Chronix Biomedical Inc.

Oncocyte Forward Looking Statements
Oncocyte cautions you that this press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “may,” and similar expressions) are forward-looking statements. These statements include those pertaining to the Oncocyte Medical Advisory Board, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the potential impact of COVID-19 on our or any distributor’s financial and operational results, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential diagnostic tests or products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, the capacity of our third-party supplied blood sample analytic system to provide consistent and precise analytic results on a commercial scale, potential interruptions to our or any distributor’s supply chain, the need and ability to obtain future capital, maintenance of intellectual property rights in all applicable jurisdictions, and the need to obtain third party reimbursement for patients’ use of any diagnostic tests we commercialize in applicable jurisdictions, and risks inherent in strategic transactions such as failure to realize anticipated benefits, legal, regulatory or political changes in the applicable jurisdictions, accounting and quality controls, greater than estimated allocations of resources to develop and commercialize technologies, or failure to maintain any laboratory accreditation or certification. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and accordingly such statements should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of Oncocyte, particularly those mentioned in the “Risk Factors” and other cautionary statements found in Oncocyte’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available from the SEC’s website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Oncocyte undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Investor Contact
Bob Yedid
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
646-597-6989
bob@lifesciadvisors.com