Thermo Fisher Scientific has entered into an agreement with Janssen Biotech to co-develop a companion diagnostic (CDx) for cancer.
The CDx will assist clinical study recruitment across the globe.
As per terms of the deal, Thermo Fisher will work with the scientists of Janssen Research & Development, to validate various biomarkers for use with Thermo Fisher’s Oncomine Dx Target Test.
The Oncomine Dx Target Test will help detect variant-positive patients for NSCLC clinical studies
The Oncomine Dx Target Test will be applied for the detection of variant-positive patients for recruitment into clinical studies focused on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The Oncomine Dx Target Test is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay, which includes 46 cancer-related biomarkers.
The test is claimed to feature a fast turnaround time and the lowest sample needs on the market for the identification of both DNA and RNA variants.
The Oncomine Dx Target Test, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017, has been a key part of multiple drug development and clinical trial support agreements between Thermo Fisher and international pharmaceutical firms.
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s life sciences solutions president and senior vice president Peter Silvester said: “The ability of the Oncomine Dx Target Test to rapidly detect variants of interest from very small quantities of DNA or RNA samples makes this technology ideally suited to support development programs requiring an NGS-based workflow that delivers actionable insights consistently.
“We are confident that this approach to patient stratification helps expedite drug development initiatives which ultimately are designed to promote better health outcomes through targeted therapies.”
Earlier this month, Thermo Fisher agreed to acquire molecular diagnostics and sample preparation technologies provider Qiagen in a deal valued at around $11.5bn.
Based in the Netherlands, Qiagen provides life science and molecular diagnostic solutions to more than 500,000 customers across the globe.
