Trovagene launches pharmaceutical alliance to monitor lung cancer patients' EGFR mutational status

Trovagene, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROV), a developer of cell-free molecular diagnostics, today announced that it will collaborate with a pharmaceutical company to evaluate Trovagene's proprietary, urine-based, cell-free DNA technology for the detection of certain epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations associated with lung cancer.

"We are pleased to launch a pharmaceutical clinical study collaboration to further evaluate the use of cell-free DNA in urine as a systemic sample for monitoring of individual patients' mutational status," said Antonius Schuh, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Trovagene. "The ability to non-invasively monitor real-time EGFR mutations changes in lung cancer patients represents the potential to obtain greater guidance for treatment decisions."

Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States, with more than 225,000 new cases diagnosed annually.  EGFR mutations are present in 10 to 35 percent of lung cancers, and these mutations frequently occur during the course of therapy, affecting response to treatment and/or prognosis.  

"This study will help us further evaluate Trovagene's technology as an alternative for mutation monitoring in lung cancer, where tissue biopsies are often challenging to obtain," said Mark Erlander, chief scientific officer of Trovagene.

Trovagene is committed to a clinical study program with the objective to demonstrate that cell-free DNA specimens from urine samples provide an effective and reliable alternative to monitoring patients' therapeutic response and the emergence of drug-resistance mutations, thereby offering the potential to improve outcomes and patient care.