In honor of Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month, we sat down with Dr. Hamza Hashmi, a hematologist-oncologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to understand how his family’s personal experience with cancer has influenced his approach to treating and caring for patients living with myeloma and other plasma cell disorders.

As an oncology specialist, Dr. Hashmi is accustomed to his friends and family turning to him for guidance or additional context when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, as they seek ways to cope with the situation. His siblings are also physicians, and they often rely on one another for consults across their respective specialties. So, when he received a message from his brother with images of a patient’s labs in May 2023, he proceeded to provide his expertise as usual.

“I went through the case and immediately recognized the unmistakable signs of advanced-stage, high-risk myeloma. The indications were all there – high calcium, high protein, and poor kidney function,” said Dr. Hashmi. “But when I looked at the patient’s name, a realization hit me, it was Samia, our mother.”

This came as a big surprise as even the week prior, Samia seemed to be in perfect health, enjoying time with her children and grandchildren, and as an active member of her local yoga group. The shift in her health was sudden, and it continued to deteriorate quickly.

After her diagnosis, the siblings became deeply involved in her care decisions. Yet for Dr. Hashmi, each choice weighed heavily.  Despite his expertise, his emotions threatened to cloud his judgment and he began to second-guess himself at every turn. Dr. Hashmi sought counsel from peers and mentors, ensuring that he continued to pursue the best possible care for his mother.

“Up until this moment, I had seen thousands of patients with myeloma, treating them with rounds of chemotherapy, transplants and novel, state-of-the-art therapies. But I’d never been in the role of making these decisions as a caregiver. Part of my role is to determine whether patients are well enough to go through the rigors of a transplant. Knowing my mother’s age and seeing her frailness, I had to make the very difficult decision that unfortunately, she was not fit for this. She may not even survive it.”

During Samia’s hospital stays, Dr. Hashmi gained a newfound respect for the various players who keep our healthcare system running: the nurses, physical therapists and support staff who selflessly contribute to all aspects of patient care. He also came to recognize the dedication and commitment often required of caregivers as they bring their loved ones home.

As his mother underwent chemotherapy, the same treatment he had provided to countless patients over the years, Dr. Hashmi came to understand the treatment’s impact on a patient’s quality of life like never before. The side effects plaguing his mom – weakness, fatigue, aches, and pains – became far more than just symptoms listed in a medical chart.

“I now saw these side effects through the lens of a caregiver, and the major impact they had on my mother’s quality of life. I realized there’s so much more that I wanted to do to help not only her, but all the patients I support.”

This journey has transformed Dr. Hashmi’s approach to patient care, balancing his previous aim to completely eradicate cancer with a more patient-centric approach that considers each individual patient’s quality of life. This experience informs his philosophy as he advocates for more personalized treatment plans and even the potential cessation of therapy as appropriate to improve his patients’ well-being.

For several years, Dr. Hashmi has used measurable (also known as minimal) residual disease (MRD) testing, specifically clonoSEQ®, with many patients in his practice. This tool helps to detect, quantify, and monitor MRD – the residual malignant cells that can be present at very low levels in a patient’s body after treatment, which are a strong predictor of outcomes. Results from the test can help physicians monitor subtle but important changes in disease burden over time, enabling personalized treatment decisions, including if their patient can safely de-escalate or discontinue therapy – which can be key to helping to restore a patient’s quality of life.

While Dr. Hashmi’s mother is not yet ready to go off treatment, he plans to use clonoSEQ once she is ready to consider next steps for her treatment, enabling his family to prioritize quality of life.

clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect measurable residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). To review the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ, visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary.

Every March, people and organizations celebrate Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month – using their voices to raise awareness about efforts to diagnose, treat, and support patients with multiple myeloma as well as inspire others on their blood cancer journeys. Earlier this month, Adapters had the privilege of hearing from Tiffany Williams, a 55-year-old multiple myeloma patient. Tiffany is a retired pediatric nurse practitioner turned patient advocate. More than that – she’s a mother, wife, sister, daughter and a fiercely supportive friend.  

Nearly 10 years ago, Tiffany began experiencing back pain. The previous year she had been treated by a neurologist for a herniated disc, so she booked another visit. This time, things quickly turned serious when an MRI revealed lesions on her spine that had metastasized. Given her medical background, she knew the prognosis wasn’t good and started to give up hope for her future. Within two weeks from the onset of her back pain, Tiffany was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  

After meeting with a specialist, however, hope was restored. She was told, “It’s incurable, but treatable.” She held onto those words and embarked on an eight-month journey of induction therapy, including chemotherapy infusion and then a stem cell transplant. During that period, in many ways, her life stopped. She was suffering from extreme fatigue and had to take a leave of absence from work. As a result, she struggled with her loss of independence and identity. Her family became her caregivers, and she leaned on those closest to her to make major decisions. Her circle of friends tightened.  

In 2021, after more than six years of maintenance therapy, Tiffany’s oncologist recommended minimal residual disease (MRD) testing – a test that measures the remaining number of cancer cells present in a patient’s body during and after treatment that can lead to disease recurrence. By using this tool to gain real-time insight into Tiffany’s disease status, her doctor was able to develop a personalized care plan for Tiffany that allowed her to feel informed in the face of so much uncertainty she had experienced throughout her cancer journey. Ultimately the results from the clonoSEQ® Assay confirmed she was MRD-negative, and her doctor told her she could safely discontinue maintenance therapy.  

Knowing that she was MRD-negative was truly freeing. For the first time in nearly a decade, she was able to take a deep breath, exhale, and enjoy the space she was in. Now, Tiffany can comfortably look forward to other monumental events in her life, such as her two children’s weddings (and hopefully grandkids!), knowing that she is free of cancer.  

Tiffany offers this advice to other multiple myeloma patients: “If there was one thing I could share, it’s to encourage them to not walk this journey alone. The path is so much easier when it’s walked alongside others. Allow yourselves to lean into being vulnerable enough to release the stress, the pain, the anger, all those emotions, and allow other people to help embrace you through it. I have a village of friends and family who I can count on and rely on, and who give me hope and inspire me to be healthy and live.” 

Adaptive is dedicated to recognizing patients like Tiffany and to contribute to the world’s understanding of the critical role that MRD can play in blood cancer patient care.

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clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). For important information about the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ including test limitations, please visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary

The uncertainty associated with a multiple myeloma diagnosis can often be deeply frightening. Many patients and their loved ones find themselves overwhelmed searching for information about prognosis and treatment. Others may feel anxious not knowing whether their treatment is working, or, if in remission, whether the cancer may come back.

This is why minimal residual disease (MRD) testing is so important. MRD testing can help to provide an accurate, ongoing picture of disease and risk status, offering a sense of control and comfort during a time when life may feel less manageable.

Adaptive recently supported a survey of multiple myeloma patients conducted by HealthTree Foundation (formerly Myeloma Crowd), to assess and learn from real-world patients about their current awareness, use, and perceptions of MRD testing. With this knowledge, Adaptive and HealthTree can ensure patients and clinicians are educated and supported to get the care they need.

The survey of 635 patients with multiple myeloma across the U.S. delivered a meaningful insight that cancer care providers nationwide need to know: The majority of myeloma patients experience both clinical and emotional benefits from MRD testing.

• 96% of patients who used MRD testing found the test useful.
• 81% of respondents said that MRD testing brought them comfort in their treatment journey by keeping them consistently informed.
• 78% of patients said that the results helped inform their provider’s treatment decisions.
• More than 90% of those who had MRD testing said they would recommend it to others.

These results affirmed the high value of MRD while underscoring the huge opportunity for more patients to benefit from MRD testing. Over half of all survey respondents were only somewhat or less familiar MRD testing. Furthermore, 99% of those surveyed who had not yet received MRD testing reported being interested in learning more about it.

Jenny Ahlstrom, a multiple myeloma survivor and founder of HealthTree Foundation, reflected on the survey results, stating, “Education is power. Patients need access to the most up-to-date information, including the most advanced diagnostics, to feel confident asking questions, making decisions, and speaking with their health care providers openly. The survey results show that more education is needed on this important type of useful testing.”

We look forward to working together with HealthTree Foundation to identify more opportunities to expand education around real-time MRD testing with clonoSEQ® to both patients and physicians.

For those interested in learning more about the uses and benefits of MRD testing, visit https://www.myelomacrowd.org/myeloma or clonoSEQ.com.

clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). For important information about the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ including test limitations, please visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary

As September and Blood Cancer Awareness Month wrap up, we want to reflect on a memorable conversation with Karen Thomas, a woman who received clonoSEQ® testing, and her physician, Dr. Hazma Hashmi, a hematologist-oncologist from the Medical University of South Carolina. At Adaptive, we know our diagnostic tests provide key information that help physicians and patients make treatment decisions, but we relish the opportunity to speak with them firsthand.

Karen is a blood cancer survivor with a zest for life — she is committed to patient advocacy and taking advantage of everything outdoors, including gardening, flyfishing and water sports. Prior to her diagnosis, she was a caretaker for her husband who is currently managing a rare blood disorder. Therefore, while familiar with doctor offices, she was not used to being the patient. That was until she experienced searing back pain in 2009 and the subsequent collapse of her spine. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) and told she might never walk again.

Within a few months, Karen transitioned from an outdoor enthusiast to a debilitated “terminal cancer patient” with an estimated two years to live. With few options at the time, she decided to go through with chemotherapy, despite the toll it would take on her body. While successful, doctors told her she would have to remain on maintenance treatment indefinitely despite the slew of side effects; that is, until she met Dr. Hashmi about 10 years later.

After hearing Karen’s story, Dr. Hashmi recommended Adaptive’s Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) test (clonoSEQ®). With a negative result, they decided to alter her maintenance plan, which included eliminating chemotherapy. During our conversation with Karen, she told the Adaptive team, “You gave my life back to me.”

As for general advice to people who receive a cancer diagnosis, Karen has several suggestions to help improve the patient care experience:

• Conduct external research about doctors, and be intentional about choosing your provider
• Expand your external research into learning more about your cancer and potential diagnostic and treatment options, including MRD testing
• Ask questions to clearly understand all available options for care, and don’t be afraid to seek out a second opinion

From a physician perspective, Dr. Hashmi emphasizes the need for more clinicians to understand the latest technologies in the fight against cancer, such as MRD testing. These innovative tools are only beneficial if doctors understand how they work and what kind of information they provide. Armed with this knowledge, healthcare providers may be able to consider current medical advancements while tailoring their treatment recommendation.

Today, Karen shares her experience to comfort and inform people who are living with blood cancer, along with their caregivers and families. For example, when she accompanies her husband to blood transfusion centers, she walks the halls and speaks to patients who are hesitant to receive bone marrow transplants. She listens to them, helps guide them and is a true testament to us all that a full life beyond a cancer diagnosis is possible.

clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). For important information about the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ including test limitations, please visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary

The day a person receives a cancer diagnosis is likely one of the worst days of their lives. For some new patients, the typical approach may be to seek care from a specialist at an NCCN-designated cancer center. But for the majority of Americans, it will be a community oncologist who guides them through their cancer journey.
That’s why Adaptive recently partnered as a sponsor with trusted community oncology organizations Association of Community Cancer Center (ACCC) and NCODA to share vital minimal (or measurable) residual disease (MRD) education with community doctors who treat hematologic oncology. We hope to level the playing field between community and academia, ultimately elevating the patient experience, no matter where they receive their care.

ACCC just launched updates to the MRD Testing Implementation Roadmap, which aims to help multidisciplinary providers successfully integrate MRD testing into the cancer care continuum for patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma, complementing the Roadmap for patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) which launched earlier this year.

For community practitioners interested in learning more now, check out the first of several MRD podcasts on ACCC’s CANCER BUZZ, The Promise of MRD Testing in Multiple Myeloma and CLL, featuring Drs. Rafael Fonseca and Tara Graff.  One of my favorite soundbites from Dr. Fonseca explains why the adoption of MRD is so pertinent now: “Truly, the refinements that have occurred over the last 5 or 10 years have brought it to the forefront and also in a very timely way because now we have the treatments that are able to reach those very deep responses where the question [of how much residual cancer is left] matters.”

Additionally, we’re proud to share that NCODA published a Positive Quality Intervention (PQI), titled, “clonoSEQ Next Generation Sequencing for Minimum Residual Disease Testing in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.” This PQI offers community CLL providers important insights on the time points during which to consider MRD, as well as potential patient pathways, illustrating a fixed duration therapy option and a chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) regimen.

Putting patients first is a philosophy that everyone can get behind. At Adaptive, we’re committed to ensuring every patient who may benefit from MRD assessment at a sensitivity of 10^-6 has a care team who is familiar with and able to take advantage of the insights that clonoSEQ® provides.

*NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma V.2.2022. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Multiple Myeloma V.5.2022. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia V.1.2022. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia V.1.2022 © National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc, 2022. All rights reserved. Accessed May 20, 2022. To view the most recent and complete version of the guideline, go to NCCN.org. NCCN makes no warranties of any kind whatsoever regarding their content, use of application and disclaims any responsibility for their application or use in any way.

clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). For important information about the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ including test limitations, please visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary

This September marks four years since the 2018 Food and Drug Administration clearance for clonoSEQ to detect and monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and multiple myeloma (MM). In the years following, researchers have explored the value of using MRD status to guide treatment in blood cancers – and the mounting evidence has been substantial in making the case for clinical actionability of MRD in MM. As a result, clinician attitudes are evolving, particularly following the dissemination of MRD-guided study designs such as the MASTER trial.

This evolution is captured by a 2021 survey of 89 oncologists, published in Blood Cancer Journal last month, aimed at understanding clinicians’ general attitudes toward the use of MRD and how MRD status might impact decision-making in common clinical scenarios. Responses were received from oncologists who treat multiple myeloma patients in academic and non-academic settings, with the median clinical experience being 10 years. Of these clinicians, 57 (64%) indicated they assess MRD as part of myeloma patient care.

An additional survey of a subset (68) of the respondents revealed a significant increase (37% to 60%) in clinicians reporting use of minimal residual disease (MRD) status as a guide for making treatment decisions in MM compared with a prior survey in 2018. Other findings demonstrated that:

• 78% would change a clinical decision based on presence of high-risk disease.
• 60% would change a decision based on an MRD result.
• 54% of respondents would use a combination of both MRD status and disease risk to make decisions either to intensify therapy in MRD positive patients, or to de-escalate or stop therapy in MRD negative patients.
• Notably, nearly 40% of respondents said they would discontinue treatment if a patient was sustained MRD-negative and standard risk.

Independent of whether MRD was being used in clinical practice, 56% of all responding clinicians indicated concern that there was not enough data to support decision making. Despite the progress being made, there is still a desire to see more data to support the use of MRD.

Closing the Gap

Multiple factors may be driving the evolution of views reflected in the updated survey: the availability of highly sensitive technologies such as clonoSEQ, real world and study data reporting the impact of MRD-guided treatment, and an increase in the number of trial strategies using MRD to guide therapy.

Adaptive is committed to improving the lives of people living with cancer. To do that, we are actively partnering with researchers to deepen understanding of the impact of MRD use for clinicians. Some key studies to watch:

• MRD2STOP, led by Dr. Derman, and SWOG S1803 are evaluating whether MRD-negative patients who are on maintenance therapy can safely and effectively discontinue treatment.
• MASTER, led by Dr. Luciano Costa of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, in which patients with persistent MRD negativity after quadruplet induction and consolidation therapy (including transplantation) proceeded to discontinue all therapy, even maintenance lenalidomide.
• REMNANT, led by Fredrik Schjesvold, assessing use of MRD positivity to initiate treatment post-transplant.

MRD testing has strong prognostic value and gives us more information than ever on depth of response. MRD-guided decision-making has the potential both to save patients from unnecessary exposure to toxic, expensive therapies, as well as guide intervention prior to clinical relapse. Building on existing data to bring MRD into routine care for all myeloma patients is the next frontier.

clonoSEQ® is available as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test service provided by Adaptive Biotechnologies to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in bone marrow from patients with multiple myeloma or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and blood or bone marrow from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). clonoSEQ is also available for use in other lymphoid cancers and specimen types as a CLIA-validated laboratory developed test (LDT). For important information about the FDA-cleared uses of clonoSEQ including test limitations, please visit clonoSEQ.com/technical-summary. 

“If it makes sense to you it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. Follow your passion.”

Here at Adaptive we understand that fostering an empowering environment for future STEM leaders through rich mentoring opportunities will be key to enabling them to find their own professional paths later in life.

In March, Adaptive hosted a Field Day for young women in the Stem Path Innovations Network (SPIN) Girl’s program. Meghan Y., Sr. Marketing Specialist, sat down with Nina H., Director of Molecular Product Development at Adaptive, and Prachi S., SPIN Girls Fellow, to talk about the role of mentorship in their lives.

M: Why does mentorship matter to both of you, and to the field at large?

Nina: It’s never too early to start learning the behaviors we need to succeed at a high level, and mentorship gives you access to that information. As mentors we are coaches, role models, cheerleaders, older siblings, and teachers – sometimes all at once.

A good mentor cares about the success of others and enables everyone to rise. Mentors can help us navigate through stages and phases of life, leaving us more time and energy to make new discoveries. They can also be role models and individuals we aspire to be.

Prachi: Mentorship matters to me because my mentors provide me with support, advice, and feedback on things in my life that are important to me. They are always looking out for my best interest and offer new perspectives on situations in my life. One thing I have learned from my mentor is to not wait for opportunities to come to you, and instead step out of your comfort zone to find opportunities that interest you. I try to do this in my life when it comes to academic or professional opportunities I hope to find.

M: What inspires you both about the young women of SPIN?

Nina: I’m in awe of their persistence, commitment, and grit. To me, grit is the difference between giving up and tackling a problem head on. These young women have already displayed grit and will bring so much to the table in their careers – what they need is a helping hand and opportunities to gain perspective and overcome challenges. Put plainly: resources, people, information. I can’t wait to see what they do when they finish their programs and influence the world.

Prachi: My fellow SPIN girls are the most motivated and inspirational women I interact with regularly. Along with being my friends, I would consider them “peer-mentors” because they are always willing to help you out to the best of their ability. Despite all of us pursuing very different career paths within STEM, I can learn many things from them and be inspired by their initiative. From finding research opportunities to interning at a hospital, the initiative they show to learn more about their future careers encourages me to take similar steps for my own future.

M: Nina, what’s the best advice you received early on in your career, and what advice do you have to offer women of all ages looking to pursue a career in STEM?

Nina: If it makes sense to you it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. Follow your passion.

When it comes to pursuing a career in STEM, my advice is to take the hard classes and internalize underlying key concepts in various disciplines. Even if you do not use the hard-earned knowledge in the everyday part of your job, having the range to operate comfortably in them can really pay off. For example, overseeing mainly laboratory research projects does not require me being an expert in bioinformatics, but having taken computer science classes and dabbled in code writing in my STEM career makes me a better partner on cross-functional lab and computational projects

M: Prachi, when you look ahead, what do you hope to be doing within the field and how do you want the field to look?

Prachi: As I look ahead, I see myself using computer science to improve connectivity, efficiency, and equity in our world. I hope to work side-by-side with diverse people to create technology that makes the lives of everyone better and easier. I know there are not enough women and people of color in this field, and I hope to see more diversity in the future. To say that computer science is powerful would be an understatement because I believe this field has the power to change the future for the better.

M: Nina, do you have any advice for new mentors who are just starting their mentorship journey?

Nina: You have so much to offer to the next cohort of scientists and you will feel so rewarded doing it. Go for it. Now.

To learn more about SPIN Girls, visit their website: https://www.stempaths.org/

At Adaptive, we aspire every day to create and cultivate a culture of belonging. As a lifelong conservationist and advocate for responsible consumption, for me, bringing my whole self to work means these passions come to the office with me.

Since Adaptive’s early years we’ve operated with environmental responsibility at top of mind. Disposal guides developed by lab staff ensure the safe and responsible handling of waste, and our facilities team oversees onsite compost and recycling options that reduce our impact. Our headquarters and Seattle locations supply EV charging as a parking option. For those commuting we provide options for covering the costs of mass transit, as well as incentives for walking or biking to work.

Building on this strong foundation, and in collaboration with Annie, VP, Molecular Research & Innovation, Don, Director, Site Operations, and Jeremy, Sr. Manager, Site Operations, I’m proud to announce the launch of the new Sustainability @ Adaptive Employee Resource Group (ERG), with the aim of reducing Adaptive’s overall footprint and embracing the importance of a healthy planet.

I’m thrilled to be on a team that can take these efforts even further with the formal support of Adaptive Leadership and our volunteer peers, as well as collaborating with Adaptive’s other ERGs to imbue sustainability across the organization.

What’s next for Sustainability @ Adaptive?

Our newly built headquarters has incredible rooftop space, and we’re looking to make the most of it. Plant beds with drip irrigation have been constructed so that our staff can contribute to and help maintain a company garden. Sustainability @ Adaptive, along with Karen Robins (Chad and Harlan’s mom!) recently hosted a planting session for flowers, vegetables, and herbs in these plant beds to welcome springtime and foster an appreciation for growing and consuming locally.

As a companion to these plant beds, another addition to our rooftop has created quite the buzz–a colony of honeybees that will help pollinate our garden and the nearby greenery around the Eastlake neighborhood. With two hives already in place, our headquarters is home to approximately 100,000 bees. We’ll be hosting workshops so Adaptive staff can learn more about the bees and their contribution to biodiversity and sustainability. Of course, we’re looking forward to harvesting and jarring honey right on our own rooftop!

Additionally, we’ve introduced a Green Lab initiative that will operate cross-functionally to identify ways to reduce our energy and plastic consumption to a higher degree.

Why this matters

By formally committing to this initiative, we’re bringing together talented and eco-conscious individuals from across our business to solve challenging ecological problems and ultimately better serve our communities. As Adaptive continues to grow and evolve, nurturing thoughtful approaches to consumption and resources will support a culture of efficiency and innovation across the organization.

During the summer and fall of 2020, I had the great pleasure of working as a digital marketing and communications associate on Adaptive Biotechnologies’ Corporate Marketing and Communications Team. My role consisted of creating content to communicate the science behind the company’s immune medicine platform – using social media to share that information broadly.  During my time at Adaptive, I came to learn the inextricable connection between clinical medicine, biotechnological advancement, and the patient story.  My advice to all incoming interns is this: be open-minded and eager to learn anything and everything you can from those around you. Whatever your desired career trajectory, the lessons you learn and knowledge you acquire while working at Adaptive will carry forward through anything you do.

As a pre-medical student at Vanderbilt University studying Medicine, Health, and Society, I had originally anticipated spending my summer working in a hospital setting to gain clinical exposure. However, the unforeseen circumstances surrounding the onset of COVID-19 restricted my ability to do so, and I began seeking other ways to make a meaningful impact on patients’ lives. I stepped into my role at Adaptive as it turned its technology toward decoding the immune response to COVID-19 and contributing to vaccine research, watching as the urgent relevance of immune medicine became clear to the world at large. As the pandemic response unfolded, I spent my time writing about Adaptive’s discoveries related to COVID-19. Whether explaining the basic workings of the adaptive immune system or describing the vital role of T cells in conferring long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2, I was comforted knowing my work was augmenting the general public’s understanding and contributing to the fight against the pandemic. 

During my time at Adaptive, I became fascinated by the potential of utilizing the immune system as a natural diagnostic and therapeutic tool in biomedical research. I was inspired to continue exploring the impact of immunological discoveries in a clinical setting. When I returned to Vanderbilt’s campus in the Spring of 2021, I began working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Bohannon Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to investigate immunomodulatory therapies for the prevention of infection and sepsis in patients with burn and other critical injuries. In my gap year following graduation and prior to attending medical school, I plan to work as a Research Fellow in the Marciscano Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine to discover and validate novel, effective, and potentially synergistic combinations of radiotherapy and immunotherapy for treating cancer.   

As I venture into medical school and beyond, I will carry forward all I’ve learned from working at Adaptive. Effectively translating scientific concepts into digestible information for various audiences honed my science writing and communication skills. As a prospective physician, it’s imperative for me to adapt medical knowledge to connect with patients, allowing for effective treatment. My time at Adaptive taught me that a unique story is unfolding inside every patient’s body. Great physicians know how to both listen to and tell that story.   

One thing that stood out for me during that summer – the people. I cannot speak highly enough of the bright, dynamic, and welcoming individuals with whom I worked. They immediately made me feel comforted and supported, which gave me the confidence to live out my potential on the team and make meaningful contributions that built upon my colleagues’ work. Adaptive is an incredible place to explore the promise of immune medicine, partake in groundbreaking biotechnological pursuits to improve patient outcomes, and witness the workings of the healthcare industry. 

Earlier today, Adaptive Co-Founder and CEO Chad Robins sent the following note to Adaptive Biotechnologies employees:

Dear Adapters,  

I am writing to you today with hard news to share. As many of you are aware, we recently announced a restructuring to create a more streamlined and focused organization with two business units that will best position us for success: MRD and Immune Medicine. As part of this process, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce. This directly impacts approximately 100 current team members. 

Personally, this is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in my 12 years at Adaptive, especially since I have close, personal relationships with several impacted Adapters. I am also confident that this is the right decision. Our vision and mission have been our north star. We are doing something transformative here. This reorganization and the headcount reduction are necessary for us to enable patients to benefit from our game changing technologies in as short a time as possible.  

Ensuring we have the capital and the resources to fuel our growth while navigating turbulent market conditions has resulted in the need to make hard choices. This is a business decision but believe me, I know it affects us all very personally.  

Focusing and Prioritizing to Drive Growth 

Over the past several weeks, the executive team has made decisions to prioritize key product development efforts that will be most impactful to our goals and objectives for each business area. Given current market conditions affecting Adaptive and the biotech industry more broadly, it is also critical to manage our operating expenses and extend our cash horizon.  

 We performed a comprehensive review of all departments across the company in conjunction with the ongoing reorganization of the business. It became clear that we had to cut operating expenses, deprioritize certain projects and programs, and make significant adjustments to expenditures on capital projects. This decision was a last resort after considering all these alternatives.  

Transition Support  

I have always told you that I consider our team to be more than just co-workers, and I truly mean it. Each Adapter has played a crucial role in building the vision that we strive towards every day. You have brought talent, knowledge, dedication, and passion to our organization. We have built Adaptive together and your role in helping to create a new category of medicine will be part of your – and all of our – shared legacy.   

There is no easy way to share this news or to say goodbye to our colleagues and friends whom we respect and admire. I want you to know that our team is doing everything we can to support all of you during this transition with the utmost compassion and thoughtfulness.  All departing colleagues will be receiving a comprehensive exit package comprised of the following elements:  

• Separation payment based on tenure
• 2021 Bonus Payout
• Continued benefits coverage support through the end of May for those currently enrolled + their dependents
• Extended access to the Employee Assistance Program through end of May 
• Our internal talent acquisition team will offer resume reviews and interview workshops, create a resume book to share across a broad network of companies, and assist with other outplacement support 
• Execs will help impacted employees to network with other companies 

Next Steps   

Those of you leaving Adaptive will receive a calendar invite momentarily to a departure meeting with a senior leader in your department. The final working day for departing employees is today, March 8^th. 

For those of you remaining with Adaptive, you will be hearing from the executive leader on your team today. Tomorrow, we will be holding an all-company meeting to discuss the future of Adaptive and answer questions.  

 A Final Note 

We are parting ways with many extremely talented and dedicated colleagues. We know this is difficult and, for many, will take a long time to process. We will get through this together, and we will be providing resources to help us all navigate this time.  

For those who will be leaving us, I want to thank you again for the time and work you have put into Adaptive; we would not be the organization we are today without your dedication and hard work. The contributions, the relationships, and the lessons we have all learned together will endure, and we sincerely hope you are proud to be part of the Adaptive story.   

Please reach out if there is any way we can help you as you continue the next part of your journey.   

With gratitude,  

Chad