NEW YORK, April 23 – Genometrix and GE Medical Systems said Monday they have agreed to participate in a joint research project that would apply their respective genomic and imaging technologies to determine a patient’s risk for developing certain diseases.
“Initially the goal is to identify certain biomarkers using our technologies and then put that onto arrays that we would fabricate as a diagnostic,” said Deval Lashkari, vice president of business development and marketing at Genometrix of The Woodlands, Texas.
“Our two technologies are ideally suited to dig down deep into these diseases,” Lashkari added, referring to the study’s initial emphasis on breast and prostate cancer.
Lashkari declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal but said that both companies would contribute financial and technology resources to the study, which marks GE Medical Systems’ growing interest in genomics.
"This agreement will combine the strengths of genomics, functional genomics, and molecular imaging to put better information in the hands of healthcare professionals," Joseph Hogan, CEO of GE Medical Systems, said in a statement.
GE Medical Systems was not immediately available to comment.
The project will involve a total of 12-15 employees from GE Medical Systems and Genometrix and last for three to four years. The study will take place at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Based in Waukesha, Wis., GE Medical Systems specializes in developing non-invasive molecular imaging methods, including positron emission tomography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, to detect disease before symptoms appear. Genometrix of The Woodlands, Texas, develops microarray technologies, including VistaMorph and VistaLogic analysis and visualization tools, which are designed to identify patient populations at risk for certain diseases.