Navid Alipour, CEO, CureMatch
Today, most oncologists know that a one-size-fits-all approach may not result in optimal cancer treatment, which can encompass chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, infusions and a large number of other drugs. As recent research reveals, each patient’s cancer and the actual molecular profile of each patient’s tumor is unique in nature – and so should their therapy. This knowledge is driving a big paradigm shift: providing personalized treatment for each patient instead of generalized treatments for everyone.
Rather than rely solely on the standard of care or therapies, precision medicine or personalize therapy aims to help doctors pinpoint a combination of treatments that will provide the best outcomes for that individual patient.
So, how can we identify the most suitable combination of drugs? Given that there are millions of monotherapy and combination therapies to choose from, oncologists usually spend lots of time and energy selecting the right combination of medications – a painstaking and time-consuming process. But with the help of precision medicine technology, it’s possible to more quickly identify the options that best ‘match’ the patient’s molecular profile. In this context, ‘CureMatch’, a precision medicine decision support company from San Diego, California, is leading the way. The company was established in 2015 intending to help save and extend patients’ lives by matching them with the most optimal combination of treatment options through AI-based technology. So far, they have been providing world class services through their proprietary tech platform and are recognized as a leader in precision oncology.
Providing State-of-the-Art Support for Cancer Treatment
“CureMatch was founded to support the oncology community in pursuing better cancer outcomes. We began our journey by considering genomic sequencing. But we soon encountered a serious obstacle: too much data and not enough bandwidth for doctors. Some sequencing lab reports can be up to 50 pages long. Most oncologists do not have the time to go through it all. There are thousands of genes and millions of variants out there. So, there are literally millions of possible drug therapy combinations to treat all the aberrations,” Mr. Navid Alipour, the CEO of the company, explains.
To solve this problem, oncologist Dr. Razelle Kurzrock (and co-founder of CureMatch) along with the San Diego Supercomputer Center and other scientists, technical and clinical experts came together to develop a technological answer. They wanted some way to efficiently sort through mountains of data as well as provide a report with the important information and actionable insights. This created CureMatch’s proprietary personalized combination therapy platform.
“Understanding genomics helps us to better understand a cancer cell, but their complexity is beyond human cognition. To harness the value and volume of data related to genomics, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) was key. Supported by AI, our platform deciphers this complexity so that doctors can know the information easily and thus, select certain genomically targeted drugs, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy as treatment options,” Mr. Alipour says.
In essence, CureMatch can help match a patient’s treatable mutations to optimal therapy options, including unique and novel drug combinations. Their technology integrates each patient’s vital cancer information provided in next-gen sequencing (NGS) data such as tumor genomics, tumor pathology, and tumor immune profile, as well as vast quantities of scientific research and AI-based algorithms, to deliver a consolidated oncology report.
“CureMatch empowers oncologists to unravel the immense complexity behind genomics so that they can use their expertise to match patients to more effective treatments for optimal cancer treatment,” Mr. Alipour says.
Dedicated to Improve Oncology through Quality Services and Collaboration
“Our team consists of clinical, data science, technology and industry experts. Our culture is rooted in solving problems for quality and ease of use. So, we’re dedicated to providing solutions to help doctors do their best work,” Mr. Alipour says.
To help build long-lasting relationships, collaboration is crucial. The CureMatch team believes in bringing patients together with doctors. “Our mission to help save and extend lives by better matching patients to optimal treatment options. We support oncologists in academic centers, community clinics, concierge cancer groups and hospitals. We are also helping NGS labs to better support clients by alleviating the overwhelming data analysis task through our report,” Mr. Alipour says.
Further, their technology was developed by practising oncology experts and so, their platform has been validated publicly. “Our personalized medicine’s value has been articulated in many journals including Nature Medicine, Cancers and Nature Communications as well as at the AACR and ASCO meetings this year,” Mr. Alipour shares. Also, results from the first study of treating cancer patients with personalized medicine shows better disease control and survival rates.
Looking Towards a Bright Tomorrow
CureMatch lends great support to oncologists clear, accessible and actionable knowledge tailored for each patient. The company has become a trusted partner for oncologists, cancer centers, NGS labs and similar groups in the US healthcare industry. Their innovative approach, steady performance, collaborative attitude and cross-disciplinary expertise have made them one of the world’s leaders in the field of precision oncology.
“Today, a small percentage of cancer patients have the benefit of precision medicine and the type of therapy matching technology that CureMatch delivers. As we continue to see benefits for patients and value for oncologists, I anticipate the adoption of precision medicine will grow exponentially – helping doctors in deciding not only which treatments to use, but also which treatments not to use,” Mr. Alipour shares his opinions about the future.