Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) today announced that it has partnered with the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) and Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) to launch a first of its kind, multi-center, international prospective study, the Genomics of Young Lung Cancer. This study aims to better inform treatment decisions in young adults with lung cancer by leveraging FoundationOne®, the only commercially available and validated comprehensive genomic profile, to look beyond the genomic alterations commonly associated with lung cancer and identify the novel and unique alterations that present in lung cancers in young adults. This insight, in combination with the expertise of leading academic institutions and peer-reviewed literature, will be applied to determine more effective treatment options and tailor therapies precisely for these distinct and underserved patients.

In 2014, 224,000 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed; 3,700 of these are expected to occur in patients under the age of 45. Eighty percent of new lung cancer diagnoses are made in former or never-smokers, and three percent of cancer diagnoses made in patients younger than 45 will be lung cancer1.

“Lung cancer presents in a unique manner in young adults, who often do not exhibit the characteristic symptoms and signs of a typical patient with lung cancer,” said Steven Young, President and COO of ALCMI. “Despite an environment of rapidly expanding treatment options available for lung cancer, a lack of understanding of comprehensive testing for the molecular drivers of the disease specifically in young adults restricts the effective treatments available to patients at a tragically early stage in their lives. Through this initial study, we hope to address this gap in knowledge and access, and lay the groundwork to routinely identify more effective treatment options for these patients.”

The Genomics of Young Lung Cancer study is designed to fit the unique needs of young adults, allowing patients to remotely enroll in the trial online or through their mobile phones. Through the extensive network of community cancer centers available through the ALCMI consortium, patients are able to participate at a location that is convenient for them with minimal travel.

Principal Investigator on the trial, Barbara Gitlitz, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, said, “Lung cancer is fundamentally different in young adults and the current standard of care does not account for this distinction. This trial has the potential to significantly improve treatment options for young adults through a more thorough understanding of the genomic drivers of lung cancer unique to these patients.”

“It is important to approach this often overlooked patient population with a vision that is unbiased by our current observations of lung cancer,” said Deborah Morosini, MD, Vice President of Clinical Development, Foundation Medicine. “Some of our prior work highlights that lung cancer in young adults is biologically distinct, so it is important to take a comprehensive approach to identify previously unconsidered and novel alterations that may be driving the disease in this population, and can be targeted with currently available treatments. We are excited to be collaborating with the ALCMI consortium on this innovative trial that we anticipate will ultimately inform novel treatment strategies that will be more effective and better suited to the life stage of these young patients.”

Additional information about the study can be found at https://www.openmednet.org/site/alcmi-goyl or by contacting Steven Young at (203) 226-5765 or info@lungcancerfoundation.org. Individuals living outside the U.S. may contact ALCMI at info@lungcancerfoundation.org for information on how to participate.

About FoundationOne®

FoundationOne, the company's first clinical product, is a fully informative genomic profile for solid tumors used by oncologists to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's tumor and match those alterations with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Using next-generation sequencing in routine cancer specimens, FoundationOne interrogates all genes somatically altered in human cancers that are validated targets for therapy or unambiguous drivers of oncogenesis based on current knowledge. It reveals all classes of genomic alterations including base substitutions, insertions, deletions, copy number alterations and select rearrangements. FoundationOne fits easily into the clinical workflow of the ordering physician, and test results are provided in an easy-to-interpret report supported by a comprehensive review of published literature. FoundationOne is a laboratory-developed test performed at Foundation Medicine's CLIA-certified lab. Please visit www.FoundationOne.com for more information.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: FMI) is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient's unique cancer. The company's clinical assays, FoundationOne for solid tumors and FoundationOne Heme for hematologic malignancies, sarcomas and pediatric cancers, provide a fully informative genomic profile to identify the molecular alterations in a patient's cancer and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine's molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit www.FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).

Foundation Medicine® and FoundationOne® are registered trademarks of Foundation Medicine, Inc.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the ability of the Genomics of Young Lung Cancer study to better inform targeted treatment decisions of adolescents and young adults with lung cancer and the ability of the study design to fit the needs of certain cancer patients. All such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the risks that the Genomics of Young Lung Cancer study will not identify unique genomic signatures of lung cancer in its patient population; and the risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Foundation Medicine's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other risks detailed in Foundation Medicine's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Foundation Medicine undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2014.