AnchorDx enters into a collaboration with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson for early-stage lung cancer diagnosis

GUANGZHOU, China, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AnchorDx, a leading biotechnology company developing novel NGS-based early cancer detection and disease monitoring tests, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year collaboration with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson1, to conduct a lung cancer study. The study is designed to enable the early detection and diagnosis of lung cancer. The collaboration was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC.

The four-year study will be led by Dr. Zhong Nanshan, a world-renowned respiratory disease expert and a Professor at Guangzhou Medical University and Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases. Over 3,000 patients with pulmonary nodules identified by CT scan will be enrolled and followed up with in the next three years. During the study, clinical, imaging, and pathological data, as well as biospecimens, will be collected and analyzed.

AnchorDx has developed a proprietary cell-free DNA methylation test capable of distinguishing benign nodules from malignant pulmonary nodules by using the patient's blood. It has initiated multiple large clinical validation studies using this assay, the largest of which – the Thunder Project – started in 2018 targeting to enroll more than 10,000 patients across 23 top hospitals in China.

"We are pleased to collaborate with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson and AnchorDx to develop lung cancer molecular diagnostic tests by leveraging molecular, clinical and imaging AI technologies. We hope this will greatly improve the accuracy of early diagnosis and evaluation efficiency for pulmonary nodule management in China and the world," said Prof. Zhong Nanshan.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Prof. Zhong and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, both are the global leaders in the field of pulmonary diseases and patient care as well as lung cancer innovation. We will leverage AnchorDx's innovative technology and capabilities in R&D and clinical development and hope this collaboration facilitates the clinical validation of our diagnosis tests in large cohorts of lung cancer patients," said Dr. Fan Jian-Bing, CEO, AnchorDx.

As cancer becomes a dominant disease in China and around the world, we need a global strategy and solution for early cancer detection and diagnosis. Through the collaboration with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, AnchorDx expects to accelerate its pulmonary nodule and early cancer detection programs. With a strong product pipeline and accumulated clinical and market experiences, AnchorDx is well positioned to deliver an innovative solution for the early detection of lung cancer.

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SOURCE AnchorDx, Inc.