Fulgent Genetics, Inc. announced data from two poster presentations being presented on November 4, 2023, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. The poster titled, ?Critical clinical evaluation of plasma to tumor tissue concordance by cancer type using Illumina?s cell-free ctTSO500 commercial liquid biopsy assay,? explores the critical role of comparing ctDNA variants detected in plasma with those found in tissue, shedding light on the practical implementation of liquid biopsy technology.

The research presents a meticulous analysis of plasma-to-tissue concordance across various cancer types, offering valuable insights into the considerations for validation, using Illumina's cutting-edge ctTSO500 commercial liquid biopsy assay. The clinical research findings, based on a comprehensive examination of 124 cases across different cancers, reveal significant concordance variations, often linked to the cancer stage and the timing of biopsy and blood sample collection. In uterine cancers, the researchers detected 65.9% of the SNV/indel variants in plasma that were also in FFPE, 47% in colon cancer, 67% in gastric cancer, 56% in bladder cancer, 51% in larynx cancer, and 41% in prostate.

The study calls for the involvement of certified labs, highlighting the need for stringent quality management and regulatory alignment. The research ultimately underscores the reproducibility, sensitivity, and practical importance of Illumina's ctTSO500 liquid biopsy, particularly for patients who either cannot or prefer not to undergo traditional solid biopsies for cancer screening. The poster titled, ?FID-007: Nanoencapsulated Paclitaxel Derived from a Novel Nano-Drug Delivery Platform,?

highlights progress for Fulgent Pharma?s lead therapeutic oncology candidate, FID-007, in various cancers. Similar to data presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting in June, of 40 evaluable patients with weekly dose levels from 15 mg/m2 to 160 mg/m2, 7 (18%) had a partial response (PR) by RECIST 1.1 (pancreatic, biliary tract, and HNSCC) and 14 (35%) had stable disease. Three out of 4 HNSCC patients with PR had previously been treated with taxane.

The duration of follow-up (months), median (range) is 12.0 (0.4 - 38.9). No high-grade neuropathy has been noted to date. Preliminary clinical data suggests FID-007 may have anti-tumor activity in heavily pre-treated patients across various tumor types.

Based on the lack of adverse events, pharmacokinetics, and early indications of treatment effect, 125 mg/m2 has been chosen as the recommended Phase 2 dose. In addition, subgroup analysis based on 7 patients for Head and Neck cancer and 4 patients for Ampullary/Pancreatic cancer showed 57% and 50% objective response rate, respectively.