Improving Lives with Precision Diagnostics^®

20-30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia have mutations of the FLT3 biomarker that make them eligible for several FLT3-targeted small molecule therapies currently in late stage clinical trials. Interim results indicate that FLT3-targeted drugs may improve survival and “obviate the need for allogeneic stem cell transplantation”. If these results are confirmed and one or more of these FLT3-targeted drugs become approved by the FDA, testing for the FLT3 biomarker may eliminate the need for thousands of patients to undergo stem cell transplantation (each allogeneic transplant costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and place recipients at grave risk of infection and other complications such as Graft vs. Host disease). Accordingly, the companion diagnostic FLT3 diagnostic test will provide access to a FLT3small molecular inhibitor, which could result in improved survival coupled with cost savings of tens of thousands of dollars per AML patient. As there are more than thirty thousand new AML patients identified each year, this could result in hundreds of millions of dollars per year in potential cost savings. Further, these targeted therapies generally have substantively reduced side effects relative to those of standard chemotherapy, so the quality of life for the patient is potentially much improved.