Dynacare Laboratories, Inc. Offers The PD-L1 Companion Diagnostic For Keytruda, For The Treatment Of Lung Cancer

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - Dynacare recently announced the nationwide availability of a new Health Canada approved companion diagnostic, the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay by Dako (an Agilent Technologies company) to assess the eligibility of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients for treatment with pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy.  Data from the KEYNOTE-001 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 21, 2015, demonstrated that PD-L1 expression in at least 50% of non-small cell lung tumor cells correlated with improved response rates and progression-free survival in patients treated with Keytruda®.

"The PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay is an important advance in personalized medicine that enables clinicians to determine whether a patient with metastatic NSCLC is a candidate for this new immuno-oncology therapy," said Naseem Somani, President and CEO of Dynacare. "The launch of this innovative test is another example of our ability to implement new companion diagnostics, helping to advance treatment options for cancer and other diseases."

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada, with an estimated 26,600 new cases diagnosed in 2015. The vast majority of patients exhibit the non-small cell subtype, representing 80 to 85 per cent of patients, and over half of these patients are diagnosed with metastatic or advanced disease at initial presentation. Lung cancer patients in Canada have the lowest five-year survival (17 per cent) of patients diagnosed with all major cancers.  Over 20,000 people will die of lung cancer this year, which represents 25 per cent of all cancer deaths in Canada.

For more information on the PD-L1 pharmDx test, contact Dynacare Next's customer service at (888) 497-4711.

Keytruda® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

About Dynacare

Supporting healthy lives with commitment and care. By living this mission, Dynacare will achieve its vision of becoming Canada's health and wellness solutions leader.

Dynacare (formerly Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories) is one of Canada's largest providers of health and wellness solutions, with a history that spans more than 50 years. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, the company has operations in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Every year, Dynacare takes care of more than 10 million Canadians through the accurate and timely delivery of laboratory test results and other health-related services to patients, physicians, healthcare facilities and companies in a wide range of industries. www.dynacare.ca

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SOURCE Dynacare