Benzinga | Dec 2, 2021 07:07AM EST

CareDx The Transplant Company Surpasses 80,000 Patient Milestone

CareDx, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNA) -- The Transplant Company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers -- today announced that it has served over 80,000 organ transplant patients with AlloSure(r) or AlloMap(r) for their post-transplant care.1

CareDx AlloSure and AlloMap are the most widely used donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) tests used to measure organ transplant health. More than 90 percent of the nation's heart transplant centers use AlloMap Heart and 70 percent of kidney transplant centers use AlloSure Kidney.1 Introduced in October 2021, AlloSure Lung has already been adopted in over 20 lung transplant centers.1

"CareDx's number one priority is to support patients through all aspects of their journey, from the moment they are put on the transplant list through their procedure and the lifetime of care they require after," said Reg Seeto, CEO and President of CareDx. "Our dream has always been one organ for the life of that patient, which requires active monitoring of the transplanted organ to identify risk of injury or a change in the immune state of the organ. Reaching this milestone of serving 80,000 transplant patients is a testament to the value of both AlloMap and AlloSure being incorporated into the standard management of heart, kidney, and lung transplant patients."

CareDx transplant solutions, including AlloSure and AlloMap, have made an immediate and lasting impact on the lives of tens of thousands of organ transplant recipients. Since 2013, CareDx has been proud to host a transplant patient speaker at its monthly Town Hall employee meeting. The company recently celebrated its 100th patient speaker. Three of these celebrated patients include:

* Alexandra Harrison-Flaxman had her second kidney transplant in May of 2013 after being on dialysis for almost 9 years following the failure of her first transplant. She underwent several biopsies within the first year of the transplant to make sure she wasn't rejecting the new kidney, and no allograft problems were detected. She requested AlloSure because of previous biopsy complications and her donor-derived cfDNA levels came back extremely elevated, giving her physician the ability to act quickly to put together a treatment plan of monthly infusions to stave off rejection. "AlloSure Kidney gives me some comfort knowing everything is going as planned and the treatment is working, and not needing to undergo a biopsy every time is just a bonus," she says.

* Sam Dey survived a massive heart attack in 2008 while working in India. He resumed work but due to his failing health couldn't travel back safely to the United States. His condition continued to deteriorate and in 2010, Sam underwent a life-saving quadruple bypass surgery, after he collapsed on the crowded streets of Kolkata, India. Doctors there told him that his best chances for long-term survival was a heart transplant. In 2014, with the help of his wife, Sam returned to the United States, full of hope for a new heart. He was hospitalized frequently and in late 2014, he was confined to a hospital in Maryland for more than 7 months. In April 2015, Sam 'got the call' that resulted in him receiving a new life. Sam couldn't believe his energy after receiving his donor heart, which he refers to as "a gift." During his post-transplant journey, Sam had to undergo many heart biopsies, which he described as being "painful, time consuming (for healing), and risky too, because they were invasive." Fortunately, in April 2020, Sam discovered an alternative. "I've been getting AlloSure and AlloMap testing every month," he says. "Because of those tests, I've been able to avoid having to go into the hospital for biopsies! I know that I might still need one, but so far by using AlloSure and AlloMap I haven't had to. It's been a real blessing, especially during this pandemic my last biopsy was in early 2020!"

* Kristen Jagodowski was born with cystic fibrosis. In her late 20s, with her lung function declining, her doctors recommended a double lung transplant. She had a successful transplant on her daughter's first day of kindergarten and her recovery was much shorter than she expected. Surveillance has gone less smoothly. A biopsy caused her lung to collapse, leading to an expensive, painful period of hospitalization. Now, she opts for a simple blood draw with AlloSure Lung to mitigate the risk of another pneumothorax. "I appreciate having a non-invasive way to see how well my lungs are working," she says.