AstraZeneca India and 4baseCare come together to enhance access to genomic testing for cancer patients in India

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            Dr. Rohit Bharat, Ph.D., International Diagnostics Lead HRR (Prostate Cancer),  AstraZeneca

    Mr. Ramesh Srinivasan, General Manager - Business Development (Asia), 4baseCare

                                                                                      Mr. Hitesh Goswami, CEO, 4baseCare                                                                                                                                Dr. Subhankar Basak, Ph.D., India Health Innovation Hub Lead, AstraZeneca

        Mr. Kshitij Rishi, COO, 4baseCare 

Mumbai, 09 November 2022: India’s leading precision oncology start-up 4baseCare today announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca India, a global science-led biopharmaceutical company for advancing cancer care in India.  Under this collaboration, the two organizations will support advanced-stage cancer patients with targeted therapy options using affordable genomic solutions.

Historically, most of these tests were unavailable locally and were imported burdening the cost of treatment. As a part of the collaboration, AstraZeneca and 4baseCare will work with the oncologist community to support a large number of patients by providing these services locally and also at a low cost ultimately increasing the chances of identifying optimal treatment options thereby improving clinical outcomes.

According to a report by ICMR on the ‘Burden of cancers in India’, seven cancers accounted for more than 40% of the total disease burden; lung and breast cancer being the highest. The number of Indians suffering from cancer is projected to increase to 29.8 million in 2025 from 26.7 million in 2021. Given the advancement of technology in current times, patients have an opportunity to benefit significantly from various new age strategies including ‘Precision Oncology'.  It helps provide targeted therapy to patients by identifying which drugs would work best on which patient depending upon the unique biology of a patient’s disease. Genomics-based molecular profiling is the bedrock of targeted therapy and has proved to be a life-saving diagnostics tool as it helps identify the best medical intervention path while treating a patient.

Hitesh Goswami, CEO of 4baseCare points out, “There are 15 lakh new cancer patients diagnosed every year, and more than 60% have advanced-stage cancer that can benefit from targeted therapy.  4baseCare’s vision is to make comprehensive genomic profiling as affordable and accessible as doing an MRI or PET scan is expensive. This technology could be used to guide and personalize treatment for every advanced-stage cancer patient”.

Dr. Anil Kukreja, Vice President – Medical Affairs and Regulatory, AstraZeneca India adds, “AstraZeneca has always been at the forefront of bringing and enhancing access to advanced technology-based solutions for medical and patient benefits. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of science and transforming the lives of patients through the right partnerships. Our current collaboration with 4baseCare is advancing this vision and is aimed at integrating the use of advanced comprehensive genomics as a part of regular clinical practice. This will take us a step closer to strengthening the oncology ecosystem in the country thereby providing potential opportunities for improving long term outcomes significantly”.

After doing massive research in collaboration with top hospitals and oncologists from India, 4baseCare recently launched another gene panel called TARGT IndieGene panel. TARGT Indiegene, is India’s largest and first population-specific tumor gene panel derived from Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome data from over 1,500 cancer patients across 28 different cancer types.

About 4baseCare

4baseCare, An Illumina Accelerator Company, is engaged in the development of cutting-edge precision oncology solutions, using advanced genomics and next-gen digital health technology, to personalize patient care in oncology. The company has launched a series of cancer gene panel tests that help doctors in customizing the treatment of individual patients based on the individual’s genetic make-up and comprehensive molecular profiling of the patient’s tumor sample.

4baseCare is the only company globally that is combining technological advances in both genomics and digital health to personalize patient care in oncology. 4baseCare’s cancer gene panels used for guiding the treatment of cancer patients are one of the most affordable panels available globally, some at almost 1/4th the cost for cancer gene tests in a similar segment.

For more information visit the website - https://4basecare.com/ and follow the company on Twitter @4baseCare.

About AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (AZPIL) was established in 1979 and is headquartered at Bengaluru, Karnataka. AstraZeneca India has a workforce of over 1400 employees across the country committed to deliver great medicines to patients through innovative science and global excellence in development and commercialization.