Oncology Specimen Provider Reference Medicine Announces Launch of Characterized Specimens, Enabling Increased Speed and Efficiency for Assay Developers

Phoenix, AZ – Reference Medicine, an oncology specimen procurement partner serving biopharma and diagnostic product developers, has announced that it is now offering characterized specimens – specimens enhanced with genomic characterization data and other notablebiomarker profile information – to provide researchers access to specific cancer subtypes. The lack of access to these types of samples has historically served as a barrier for researchers, slowing or halting the progress of many potentially life-saving research projects and innovations.

“At Reference Medicine, our goal is to ensure that laboratories receive high-quality samples – quickly and affordably – that they can be sure will meet their needs, so that the pace of innovation is never slowed due to sample quality or availability,” says Inga Rose, Founder & CEO of Reference Medicine. “By offering characterized specimens, we’re helping researchers access even the most genomically rare samples. It is this access that will unblock their test development and validation studies, enabling them to provide next-generation diagnostics to patients sooner and help save lives.”

In addition to performing DNA QC and pathologist review on every specimen, Reference Medicine’s characterized specimens offer additional data that can help researchers as they develop diagnostics that target specific biomarkers, such as HER2, KRAS, PIK3CA, MSI high, TMB high, gene copy number variations, and rare RNA fusion events. Without such characterized specimens, researchers may have to try hundreds of samples to find the variants they need to validate their assays. Characterized specimens allow researchers to devote more time and energy to developing diagnostics, without waiting for the right specimens to be procured.

Led by a group of renowned oncology researchers, Reference Medicine specializes in all oncologic malignancies, including solid tumor and blood, working with sites worldwide to collect samples from every cancer indication. The company offers matched sets of plasma and buffy coat from oncology and healthy donors, as well as a variety of tissue-based specimens, including tumor tissue blocks from both common and rare cancer indications and normal tissue blocks from sites that are most commonly used for controls in oncology research. The company’s unique specimen screening, storage, and delivery processes reduce failure rates and maintain high specimen quality, while the team’s scientific background in clinical research and product development knowledge enables a true partnership relationship with its customers to ensure they have the intended use specimens they need.

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“The hardest part of any NGS validation is quality sample acquisition. We’ve bought samples from numerous vendors, many of which did not meet our minimum sample quality requirements, didn’t have clinical information, or were prohibitively expensive; often all three,” says Phil Stafford, Vice President of Research and Development at Fulgent Genetics. “Our validations have been moving much more quickly, and successfully, with the well-documented and high-quality samples that Reference Medicine provided.”

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About Reference Medicine
Reference Medicine is an oncology specimen procurement partner that provides laboratories, startups, academic researchers, and others with the specimens needed to fuel oncology diagnostic innovation. Built by scientists, for scientists, Reference Medicine focuses on delivering a “hassle-free” experience by offering price transparency, online inventory browsing, speedy delivery times, and rapid customer service response rates. We’re focused on elevating the status quo in specimen procurement – we innovate, so you can innovate. Learn more at www.referencemedicine.com.