Ventana and Incyte Collaborate on Companion Diagnostic tests

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana; Tucson, AZ, USA) will collaborate with Incyte Corporation (Wilmington, DE, USA) on the development of companion diagnostic tests for Incyte's oncology drug programs, beginning with the Incyte IDO1 inhibitor program. As part of the agreement, Ventana will support Incyte's personalized medicine healthcare strategies for cancer drug development using its expertise in companion diagnostics, immunohistochemistry technology platforms, and worldwide customer support network.

Companion diagnostics help physicians identify those patients with specific biomarkers who may respond to certain types of targeted drug treatment. Incorporating a companion diagnostic strategy into a drug development program should expedite the approval process and help generate better drugs with improved safety profiles for patients.

"With the advancement of INCB24360 into multiple Phase 2 studies, our first-in-class IDO1 inhibitor program was a logical place to begin to incorporate potential companion diagnostics. We chose to partner with Ventana based on their strong scientific knowledge and development expertise in this area," stated Victor Sandor, MD, CM, Incyte's Group vice president, clinical development.

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, innovates and manufactures instruments and reagents that automate tissue processing and slide staining for cancer diagnostics. Ventana products are used in clinical histology and drug development-research laboratories worldwide. The company's integrated staining, workflow management platforms, and digital pathology solutions optimize laboratory efficiencies to reduce errors, support diagnosis, and inform treatment decisions for anatomic pathology professionals.

Incyte is a pharmaceutical company with one cancer drug, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Silver Spring, MD, USA) and has been prescribed to several thousands of patients in the United States.

Related Links:
Ventana Medical Systems
Incyte Corporation
US Food and Drug Administration