SAN DIEGO, — Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today reported on a recently released publication in which the Sequenom MassARRAY® System (for research use only) was used in a groundbreaking independent study that detected the transforming fusion gene EML4/ALK in non-small cell lung cancer. The study was conducted by researchers at Kinki University in Japan and appears in the May online issue of The Journal of Thoracic Oncology. The full results of the study can be found online at: https://journals.lww.com/jto/Abstract/2012/05000/A_Novel_Mass_Spectrometry_Based_Assay_for.20.aspx.

The research study describes an assay which detects the transforming fusion gene echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Current research methods have limitations in terms of detecting different variants, and this study demonstrates the successful detection of nine EML4-ALK variants in total RNA obtained from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens of NSCLC tissue.

As stated in the paper, “Our assay is able to distinguish between the different EML4-ALK variants in a small amount of formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded NSCLC tissue and it should prove to be a useful tool for the detection of EML4-ALK variants in testing for this fusion gene,” said Kazuto Nishio, MD, Ph.D., Lead Author, Kinki University.

The EML4-ALK translocation occurs in five to 10 percent of lung cancer patients. Crizotinib, a tyrosine kinase activity inhibitor of ALK and MET, has been shown to be effective for the treatment of lung cancer patients harboring this translocation. In contrast to dual-color split-signal FISH analysis that is commonly used for screening ALK rearrangement or real-time PCR assays, this assay, utilizing the MassARRAY System, can detect nine EML4-ALK variants and wild-type ALK including 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, and 7 transcripts.

The research study was led by Dr. Kazuto Nishio, MD, PhD of the Departments of Genome Biology and Medical Oncology at the Kinki University in Osaka, Japan. The Sequenom MassARRAY system is for research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is a life sciences company committed to improving healthcare through revolutionary genetic analysis solutions. Sequenom develops innovative technology, products and diagnostic tests that target and serve discovery and clinical research, and molecular diagnostics markets. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Sequenom maintains a Web site at https://www.sequenom.com to which Sequenom regularly posts copies of its press releases as well as additional information about Sequenom. Interested persons can subscribe on the Sequenom Web site to email alerts or RSS feeds that are sent automatically when Sequenom issues press releases, files its reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission or posts certain other information to the Web site.