NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Foundation Medicine said today that it is entering a strategic collaboration with Novartis focused on developing companion diagnostic tests for the company's portfolio of targeted oncology and immuno-oncology drugs.
According to Foundation, the collaboration structure includes development, regulatory support and commercialization of CDx tests using its US Food and Drug Administration-approved comprehensive genomic profiling assay, FoundationOne CDx.
Foundation said that the agreement also allows for global expansion in ex-US markets including Japan, where it has already submitted the larger FoundationOne CDx assay for regulatory approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in partnership with Chugai Pharmaceutical.
Melanie Nallicheri, chief business officer and head of biopharma at Foundation, said in a statement that the collaboration "reaffirms [the company's] commitment to expedite biomarker-driven development and ultimately bring more personalized treatment options to patients."
Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed and Foundation did not specify any drugs or drug candidates that it will be focusing on with Novartis.
In recent months, Foundation has also announced CDx deals with Incyte and Merck for specific therapies in those companies' pipelines.