Qiagen and Sysmex Corporation have formed a strategic alliance for the development and commercialization of cancer companion diagnostics, which will leverage Sysmex’s Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology, which detects gene mutations of cancer in blood.
Qiagen says the alliance aims to foster collaboration with pharmaceutical companies for the development of drug treatments for cancer and promote early clinical adoption of ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy companion diagnostics, such as Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology. The companies plan to launch the companion diagnostics in various regions of the world.
Genetic analysis of tumors makes it possible to identify the genes responsible for the development and spread of a tumor and to target treatment accordingly. But the traditional analysis of solid tumors is constrained by their heterogeneity – varying concentrations of cancer cells, for example – and by sample availability. Liquid biopsy addresses these challenges and, in combination with sensitive NGS, allows the evaluation of patients at different points of their cancer treatment. It enables doctors to spot new anomalies and adjust treatments to make them more precise, and to develop novel targeted therapies.
