Ventana Links With Quintiles To Offer Diagnostics Services In China

Roche Group member Ventana Medical Systems announced that it has signed into a new agreement with CRO Quintiles to supply College of American Pathology (CAP)-standard companion diagnostic testing services to pharmaceutical and biotech firms facilitating early phase clinical trials in China.

Companion diagnostics (CDx) are tests used to determine the presence of certain biomarkers in samples and, in the process, guide physicians to choose the best therapy for their patients. Such tests may help pharmaceutical companies to produce more effective drugs during development. It can also help speed lead drugs’ approvals, particularly in countries like China, which requires all patient samples — including those taken in clinical trials — to be tested within its boundaries.

Last month Ventana collaborated with Merck for the development and marketing of a companion diagnostic for a confidential cancer target. “Tailoring therapies based on a patient's specific genes, proteins or tissue environment is a key expansion area for oncology. We are very pleased to partner with Merck in Darmstadt, Germany to co-develop a CDx that will play a vital role in improving the quality of care for cancer patients,” commented Doug Ward, VP of Companion Diagnostics at Ventana.

The company has also entered an agreement with Genmab earlier this year for a similar project, this time to develop companion diagnostic tools for Genmab’s antibody drug conjugate (ADC) program.

Quintiles said that China remains its target in regards to biomarker development and testing. China had its highest rate of new cancer areas recorded worldwide in 2012 with 21.9 percent or more than 3 million cases. Among emerging cancer areas are lung, stomach, liver, and esophageal cancers. Ventana said the rising trend of cancer incidence in China increases the demand for patients to have in-country access to diagnostic testing and companion therapeutics required by early stage clinical trials.

“Our new relationship with Quintiles to offer companion diagnostic testing services in China [is]… a big step forward. Our oncology pharma collaborators can now reach a large and growing number of patients that can benefit from clinical trial participation using targeted treatments and tests,” said VP Douglas Ward.