Clarient and ACORN Research Announce a Collaboration to Standardize Testing of Most Common Cancers

Clarient and ACORN Research Announce a Collaboration to Standardize Testing of Most Common Cancers

9th of December 2011

Clarient, Inc., a GE Healthcare company (NYSE:GE), and ACORN Research LLC announced today their strategic collaboration around molecular testing of tumor samples. The agreement will establish a standardized testing protocol across the ACORN network of oncology community practices and hospitals with treatment guidelines and clinical trial opportunities. These processes have the potential to improve oncology treatment and research that aim to deliver targeted treatments based on the specific genetic markers for each patient.

The collaboration will establish a system for the collection of a broad array of tumor-specific biomarker data at the time of the patient's initial cancer diagnosis. Clarient's expertise in cancer diagnostics, combined with ACORN's oncology network and advanced bioinformatics platform, will enable the patient's medical team to better determine the most effective treatment regimen for the patient's tumor-specific biomarker profile.

The Clarient-ACORN collaboration will also enable matching broad biomarker data with outcomes data from clinical trials and clinical practice to help identify new prognostic markers and biomarker-specific treatments. Molecular profiling will be the topic of numerous conversations as both the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the American Society of Hematology get underway this week.

"As part of our commitment to take cancer personally, we are pleased to be working together with ACORN Research to provide oncologists within their network with a full menu of molecular testing, which can help identify the unique characteristics or biomarkers of a particular cancer. This information provides pathologists with crucial information to assist oncologists in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment planning," said Ron Andrews, CEO of Clarient. "Also, the opportunity to discover new markers that could be relevant in the individualized treatment of cancer has the potential to improve mortality rates, enhance patient quality of life and reduce the cost burden on cancer treatment to both patients and payers."

"We are delighted to enter into this agreement with Clarient, a company which shares our commitment to improving patient outcomes in community oncology, where 85% of all cancer patients are treated," said Lee Schwartzberg, MD, President of ACORN Research. "Our collaboration is a leap forward in bringing the most advanced diagnostics and bioinformatics tools to accelerate the use of personalized medicine in this setting."

About Clarient, Inc.

Clarient combines innovative diagnostic technologies with world class pathology expertise to assess and characterize cancer. Clarient's mission is to become the leader in cancer diagnostics by dedicating itself to collaborative relationships with the healthcare community to translate cancer discovery and research into better patient care. Clarient's principal customers include pathologists, oncologists, hospitals, and biopharmaceutical companies. The rise of individualized medicine as the new direction in oncology has created the need for a centralized resource providing leading diagnostic technologies, such as flow cytometry and molecular testing. Clarient is that resource, having created a state-of-the-art commercial cancer laboratory providing advanced oncology testing and diagnostic services. Clarient's customers are connected to its Internet-based portal, PATHSITE® that delivers high-resolution images and critical interpretive reports based on its diagnostic testing. Clarient also develops and markets new, proprietary "companion" diagnostic markers for therapeutics in breast, prostate, lung, ovarian, and colon cancers, and leukemia/lymphoma. For more information, visit www.clarientinc.com.

About ACORN Research LLC

ACORN Research, LLC is a multi-faceted research organization that combines a network of committed oncology research sites with centralized site management, a unique bioinformatics platform that combines the complete EMR record with patient reported outcomes in support of health outcomes research in oncology [Health Outcomes PharmacoEconomics Service Line (HOPE)], and a Contract Research Organization [CRO] capable of performing full study management into one seamless research operation. ACORN Research, LLC includes an infrastructure of medical oncologists, doctoral level scientists, statisticians, and other professional staff with many years of oncology specific research experience. www.acornresearch.net.