Tempus

Tempus is best known for comprehensive next-generation sequencing of solid tumors and hematologic cancers, combined with AI-powered analysis that matches patients to targeted therapies and clinical trials. It sits at the intersection of a clinical lab, a real-world data platform, and an AI company. Oncologists use Tempus to identify actionable mutations and available trials; pharma companies use Tempus data to design studies and discover biomarkers.

Tempus tests are ordered directly by treating oncologists through the Tempus platform or integrated EHR workflows. The practice sends a tissue or blood sample to Tempus's CLIA-certified lab, and the team returns a detailed NGS report with variant calls, therapy matches, and trial matches — usually within a few weeks. Tempus Next, the clinical trial matching tool, is included for ordering physicians at no extra cost.

Yes — clinical trial matching is one of Tempus's core value propositions. Tempus Next analyzes each patient's genomic report, clinical history, and location to identify relevant open clinical trials, including both industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated studies. This helps community oncologists surface options their patients might otherwise miss. Tempus also partners directly with pharma sponsors to accelerate trial enrollment.

Tempus uses AI in multiple layers: analyzing genomic variants for clinical significance, extracting structured data from unstructured clinical notes, matching patients to trials and therapies, identifying biomarkers from multimodal data, and powering specialty products like Tempus ECG-AI for cardiology. The company has invested heavily in multimodal foundation models trained on its combined genomic and clinical corpus.

Both are precision oncology companies offering NGS testing, but they have different strengths. Foundation Medicine (owned by Roche) is best known for its FDA-approved companion diagnostics and tight ties to pharma drug labels. Tempus emphasizes its broader multimodal data platform, real-world evidence, and clinical-trial matching network. Many oncologists use whichever platform best fits the specific patient, test menu, and payer coverage.

Patients do not pay a fixed list price. Tempus bills the patient's insurance for clinical NGS tests under standard molecular pathology codes. Out-of-pocket cost depends on the patient's plan, medical necessity determinations, and any financial assistance programs. Many commercial and Medicare payers cover comprehensive NGS for advanced solid tumors, so patient responsibility is often far less than any sticker price.

Oncology is the core business, but Tempus has expanded into cardiology (Tempus ECG-AI for detecting conditions like low ejection fraction from ECGs), radiology AI, and neuroscience research. The underlying thesis is the same: combine large-scale multimodal data with AI models to generate insights clinicians can act on at the point of care. Oncology remains the largest product line and the foundation of the company.