Orion Genomics Gets Help From Washington University

Aug. 9–Orion Genomics LLC said Monday that it’s collaborating with leading researchers at Washington University School of Medicine to develop diagnostic tests and treatment practices for cancer.

The company, based at the Center for Emerging Technologies incubator in Midtown, has developed technology that reads a type of chemical change in genes.

Scientists at Orion and at the medical school will use this reader on samples of cancerous and healthy tissue that have been collected through the university’s Siteman Cancer Center.

They hope to spot biomarkers that indicate the presence of cancer, and to determine which types of chemotherapy would be most effective against particular kinds of tumors, said Orion Chief Executive Nate Lakey.

The collaboration “has greatly enhanced our discovery,” and should make it possible for Orion to market its first diagnostic tests in three years, Lakey said.

A half-dozen “leading experts” at Washington University will focus on lung, breast, cervical, prostate and ovarian cancers, he said.

Orion and Washington University jointly will develop intellectual property, with Orion retaining first rights to license discoveries, Lakey said.

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