Sequenom Collaborates With University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf To Evaluate Clinical Utility Of Liquid Biopsy In Colorectal Cancer

SAN DIEGO, Oct.12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of innovative products and services, today announced that it has entered into a clinical collaboration with University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in Germany. UKE and Sequenom will collaborate to profile circulating cell-free tumor DNA in blood to monitor response to treatment in later stage colorectal cancer patients. This technology has the potential to overcome the challenges and limitations associated with current methods such as imaging, colonoscopy, and invasive biopsies.

"At UKE, we have been studying tumor-related nucleic acids and cells in blood for many years and are engaged in a number of clinical studies," said Klaus Pantel, MD, Chairman in the Department of Tumor Biology, Center of Experimental Medicine at University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf. "The collaboration with Sequenom will allow us to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate somatic mutations in the blood of colorectal cancer patients, and monitor response to treatment in a non-invasive manner."

"This is Sequenom's first oncology collaboration with a leading cancer center in Europe," said Daniel Grosu, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Sequenom. "We look forward to working with UKE to better understand the dynamic changes in circulating tumor DNA that accompany the use of various treatments in later-stage colorectal cancer, and the concordance between tumor tissue and plasma across a broad spectrum of genomic alterations."

Sequenom is currently developing a Research Use Only (RUO) assay with an initial focus on the detection and molecular profiling of late stage non-hematologic malignancies in settings where tissue biopsies are not available or are too risky to obtain.  The assay will cover a breadth of cancer types by analyzing over 100 cancer-related genes that are included in professional society guidelines, linked to targeted therapies currently in clinical trials, or part of well-documented cancer pathways.

About University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf
The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf has the ideal combination of research, teaching, and clinical work. Since its establishment in 1889, the UKE has always been one of the most modern hospitals in Europe. UKE has developed expertise in the co-ordination of its more than 80 clinics and institutes and over 1,600 beds to enable collaborative, patient-centered care.

The University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH) - Hubertus Wald Tumor Center combines 34 research and medical departments and several additional external partners with complementary expertise to offer comprehensive cancer care for patients and to pursue innovative multidisciplinary research at basic, translational, and clinical levels. UCCH's strength in both research and patient care is acknowledged by "Deutsche Krebshilfe" (German Cancer Aid), the country's major independent funding organization in the field of cancer, which, in a stringent peer review process, has designated UCCH a "Center of Excellence in Oncology."

About Sequenom 
Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of innovative products and services. The Company serves patients and physicians by providing early patient management information. To learn how Sequenom is interpreting the genome to improve your life, visit www.sequenom.com.

About Sequenom Laboratories
Sequenom Laboratories, a CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified molecular diagnostics laboratory, has developed a broad range of laboratory-developed tests, with a focus principally on prenatal care. Branded under the names HerediT^® CF, HerediT^® UNIVERSAL, VisibiliT, MaterniT21^® PLUS, MaterniT GENOME, and NextView, these molecular genetic laboratory-developed tests provide early patient management information for obstetricians, geneticists, genetic counselors and maternal fetal medicine specialists. Sequenom Laboratories is changing the landscape in genetic diagnostics using proprietary cutting-edge technologies. Visit www.laboratories.sequenom.com and follow @SequenomLabs.

SEQUENOM^®, Sequenom Laboratories, HerediT^® CF, HerediT^® UNIVERSAL, VisibiliT, MaterniT21^® PLUS, MaterniT GENOME, and NextView, are trademarks of Sequenom, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding the development of innovative products and services, the potential for the technology to overcome the challenges and limitations associated with current methods such as imaging, colonoscopy, and invasive biopsies, the ability to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate somatic mutations in the blood of colorectal cancer patients, and monitor response to treatment in a non-invasive manner, the ability to understand the dynamic changes in circulating tumor DNA that accompany the use of various treatments in later-stage colorectal cancer, and the concordance between tumor tissue and plasma across a broad spectrum of genomic alterations and the ability of the assay to cover a breadth of cancer types by analyzing over 100 cancer-related genes. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Risks are described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made.  The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

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SOURCE Sequenom, Inc.