Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and Labcorp have signed a collaboration agreement for the development of flow cytometry-based companion diagnostics (CDx).
Under the collaboration deal, both companies will develop, produce and commercialise CDx that will match patients with treatments for cancer and other diseases.
BD and Labcorp Drug Development will jointly work on flow cytometry-based CDx opportunities with pharmaceutical partners.
Combining their individual capabilities, including an end-to-end solution, they will also develop CDx for the pharmaceutical industry.
The companies’ joint offering will include the development of exploratory panels, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of diagnostic and manufacturing, and distribution of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) kits.
BD Biosciences president Puneet Sarin said: “In the companion diagnostic landscape, there is a clear and urgent need for high sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities, and that is where flow cytometry can help.
“BD and our dedicated CDx team are uniquely positioned to advance flow cytometry as a companion diagnostic tool, and we are pleased to join forces with Labcorp to pursue opportunities with the pharmaceutical industry to develop new companion diagnostics that can potentially improve patient outcomes and drive us forward in advancing the world of health.”
The company stated that the selection of optimal first-line treatment for cancer patients using CDx ensures better outcomes as well as saving cost and time.
The existing CDx tests commonly include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), or next-generation sequencing (NGS) and imaging. Meanwhile, flow cytometry is said to be an emerging technology in this area.
Labcorp Drug Development chief scientific officer Dr Bill Hanlon said: “Flow cytometry is a trusted and powerful tool for analysing cells to better understand disease, and it has tremendous untapped potential as a companion diagnostic in oncology and other therapeutic areas.”
Recently, BD reported a 0.7% increase in revenue in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022.
