Companies form partnership to develop companion diagnostic tests for cancer therapy

Incyte Corporation has joined with Vertana Medical Systems, Inc. to advance their personalized medicine healthcare strategies.

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (AZ, USA), a member of the Roche Group, is to collaborate with Incyte Coporation (DE, USA), over the development of companion diagnostic tests for Incyte’s oncology drug programs, beginning with the Incyte IDO1 inhibitor program.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ventana, which specializes in the manufacture of instruments and reagents that automate tissue processing and slide staining for cancer diagnostics, is to offer its expertise in companion diagnostics, immunohistochemistry and technology platforms in support of Incyte’s personalized medicine healthcare strategies.

It is envisaged that integrating companion diagnostics with the drug development program may expedite the approval process and help generate better drugs with improved safety profiles for patients.

“With the advancement of INCB24360 into multiple Phase II studies, our first-in-class IDO1 inhibitor program was a logical place to begin to incorporate potential companion diagnostics. We chose to partner with Ventana based on their strong scientific knowledge and development expertise in this area,” commented Victor Sandor, Incyte’s Group Vice President of Clinical Development.

Source: Ventana to partner with Incyte on the development of companion diagnostic test.