Technology companies to collaborate over diagnostics development and commercialization
Drug companies enter agreement to expand and develop companion diagnostics.
Life Technologies Cooperation (CA, USA) has recently announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with Merck Serono (Darmstadt, Germany) over current and future companion diagnostic developments. The agreement will cover an oncology project and will ensure long-term collaboration across a range of instrument platforms and therapeutic areas.
According to Ronnie Andrews, President of Genetic and Medical Sciences at Life Technologies, “Life Technologies’ combination of platforms and capabilities are unique in the comparison diagnostics space, particularly in oncology. With our recent acquisition of Compendia Bioscience, we posses bioinformatics solutions and cancer biomarker expertise to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies on each phase of the drug development process, from biomarker hypothesis to assay development – concurrently with drugs – to approved diagnostic tests. ”
The collaboration will aim to combine previously identified biomarkers and develop companion diagnostics outlined by Merck’s drug development programs. The collaboration will also work to seek regulatory approval of the companion diagnostic, as well as to commercialize their platform technologies, such as genetic and proteomic analysis. Andrews continued, “By helping pharmaceutical companies target the right cancer patients in clinical trials, we believe that we have the potential to rapidly accelerate cancer drug development, and this is good for everyone – for Life Technologies and our pharmaceutical partners, and most importantly, for our patients.” Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
