Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, KEW Group Bring Power of Personalized Medicine to Community Oncologists

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions and KEW Group, Inc., a privately held oncology services company, have announced an agreement for the two companies to make KEW's state-of-the-art diagnostic services available to Specialty Solutions' community oncology customers.

KEW is a privately held oncology services company that is focused on revolutionising cancer care by empowering all oncologists to access and apply genomic insights to design optimal, individualised treatment approaches for as many patients as possible.

"We are committed to working with all players in the healthcare system to ensure the right patients are treated at the right time, with the most effective medication, in the most convenient, accessible setting," said Scott Howell, M.D., senior vice president of Clinical Services for Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. "Our expanded agreement with KEW helps us deliver on that commitment, by providing community oncologists with access to advanced diagnostics tools that can help them make the best, most informed treatment decisions for their patients, while improving the overall cost effectiveness of care."

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions customers will now have access to KEW's CancerPlex, a highly versatile and comprehensive genetic test providing accurate, thorough and timely molecular diagnosis of patients' solid tumors, providing oncologists the ability to manage their treatment decisions with the precision provided by personalised medicine. CancerPlex:

• Simultaneously provides complete sequence coverage of more than 410 cancer genes;
• Simplifies and streamlines the test-ordering process by eliminating serial "hotspot" tests;
• Delivers a comprehensive report, including actionable data;
• Informs physicians of optimal treatment options using approved therapies and available clinical trials; and
• Supports clinical trial enrollment by providing oncologists with required molecular data.

CancerPlex testing is performed at KEW's state-of-the-art CLIA laboratory. After an oncologist orders CancerPlex, KEW facilitates tumour specimen retrieval from the patient's pathologist; analyses the specimen at its CLIA lab and then reports the findings to the oncologist. This process reveals genetic and genomic changes that impact a patient's optimal treatment options, and which may otherwise remain undiscovered by limited genetic screening or less comprehensive tests. KEW then provides the oncologist with information on diagnostic findings and potential treatment options (including clinical trials) that are most appropriate for the patient.

"We are excited to make our leading-edge molecular sequencing tumor diagnostics tools available to the nationwide network of community oncologists served by Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions," said Scott Schell, CEO of KEW Group. "We look forward to working with Specialty Solutions and community oncologists — who treat 80% of cancer patients in the US — empowering them with the ability to provide personalised medicine treatments previously only available at large cancer treatment and academic centers."