CelLBxHealth PLC (AIM:CLBX, NSX:ANPCY, OTCQB:ANPCF) has agreed a collaboration and co-marketing deal with Qiagen that will allow the diagnostics group to promote the UK company’s Parsortix system to drugmakers, opening the door to new projects in circulating tumour cell research and early diagnostic development.
The non-exclusive agreement enables Qiagen to offer the Parsortix platform to its pharmaceutical partners as part of projects that combine circulating tumour cell enrichment with Qiagen’s polymerase chain reaction, digital polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing technologies.
According to CellBxHealth, these collaborations are expected to support drug development, biomarker discovery and feasibility work on potential companion diagnostics.
Qiagen will be able to contract directly with pharmaceutical companies and outsource exploratory circulating tumour cell projects to CellBxHealth.
The projects will integrate Parsortix with Qiagen’s molecular analysis tools to generate what the companies describe as deeper insights into tumour biology and responses to treatment.
The companies have set out several terms for the partnership, including joint promotion of their technologies to pharmaceutical and biotechnology groups. Qiagen will act as the contracting party for laboratory services projects, with CellBxHealth carrying out the work.
They have also committed to exploring how Qiagen’s systems, including next-generation sequencing and automated DNA extraction, could be incorporated into the Parsortix workflow.
The agreement also includes scope for developing a companion diagnostic assay or a similar product that uses both companies’ technologies.
Circulating tumour cells offer a way to access tumour material through a blood sample rather than a tissue biopsy.
This so-called liquid biopsy approach can provide a real-time view of tumour changes, treatment targets and mechanisms of resistance. CellBxHealth said that integrating its circulating tumour cell technology with Qiagen’s tools is expected to quicken the adoption of such methods in oncology drug development and in work on new diagnostics.
Peter Collins, CellBxHealth’s chief executive, said: “This agreement marks an important step in extending the commercial and scientific reach of our Parsortix platform through collaboration with QIAGEN, a global leader in molecular diagnostics.
"By combining our technologies, we can offer pharmaceutical partners a comprehensive solution for CTC-based analysis – spanning enrichment, molecular characterisation, and diagnostic development.
"This collaboration aligns with our strategy to broaden access to our CTC technology and expand its role in precision medicine as we focus on multiple commercial opportunities.”