Bupa UK to Cover EpiSwitch CiRT for Customers with Cancer
Oxford BioDynamics, a biotechnology company developing precision medicine tests based on the EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform and Bupa, the UK’s leading health insurer, announce a strategic agreement to give Bupa patients access to OBD’s EpiSwitch CiRT (Checkpoint inhibitor Response Test).
The EpiSwitch CiRT is a first-of-its-kind blood test that accurately predicts an individual cancer patient's therapeutic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), providing unique benefits for physicians in treatment planning and navigating complex decisions. ICIs offer a real hope of durable disease control for some patients. Despite pre-screening with current standard tests such as tumour PD-L1 expression, these costly ICIs offer a long-term survival advantage to less than 1 in 4 patients, and many may become seriously ill and require hospital admission.
Under this new agreement between Bupa and OBD, Bupa health insurance customers who are being considered for immunotherapy with an anti-PD-1/L1 ICI will be offered the CiRT test, ensuring their doctor receives state-of-the-art personalised guidance to inform their treatment plan. The partnership underscores the shared vision of Bupa and OBD to improve the quality of patient care, while sparing many individuals from unwarranted side effects from ICI treatments that are ineffective for them.
The CiRT test will also be available to doctors considering treating Bupa customers with an ICI, where decisions need to be made in the face of potential serious illness and lack of response to treatment.
Tim Woodman, Medical Director at Bupa UK Insurance, said: “We’re very pleased to launch our partnership with Oxford BioDynamics which will give our customers a leap in confidence when navigating complex decisions about their therapy. This agreement reflects our commitment to leverage advanced precision medicine testing to transform cancer care and provide doctors with the tools they need to make informed decisions. Together with Oxford BioDynamics, we aim to make a positive impact on the lives of all our customers living with cancer.”
Dr Jon Burrows, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioDynamics, said: "Joining forces with a pioneering healthcare organisation like Bupa will enhance access to the EpiSwitch CiRT test across the UK. Gaining reimbursement from the UK’s leading health insurer is another milestone for the Company, as well as for Bupa customers and their doctors. Current testing modalities lack the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy to identify those most likely to benefit from this class of therapy - the CiRT blood test is a first-of-its-kind test that addresses all of these shortcomings."
This news follows EpiSwitch CiRT’s sustained adoption in the US, where a unique CPT PLA reimbursement code for the test has been available for use by US payors since October 2022.