NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – French molecular diagnostics firm Genomic Vision today announced an amendment of its agreement with Quest Diagnostics, extending their technology collaboration an additional three years.
The collaboration, originally forged in 2011 and extended in June 2013, has been further extended until November 2018. Quest will retain exclusive rights to develop, validate, and market tests based on Genomic Vision's molecular combing technology in breast and ovarian cancer — including BRCA gene mutation testing — hereditary colon cancer (Lynch syndrome), spinal muscular atrophy, and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy in the US, India, and Mexico, the firms said.
Genomic Vision retains the exclusive rights to market its tests in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Quest, which owns equity in Genomic Vision, has granted the company rights to develop new diagnostics tests with other diagnostic service providers and medical centers in the US and to market the tests globally. In consideration of the granted rights, Quest will receive credits against milestone payments earned by Genomic Vision.
Additional financial and other terms of the amended deal were not disclosed.
In January, Genomic Vision delivered a high-throughput molecular combing genome analyzer to the Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., the firms noted.
Genomic Vision's technology involves stretching DNA fibers on glass slides, "combing" them, and then uniformly aligning the DNA fibers across the whole surface. Genetic anomalies can be identified by locating genes or specific sequences in a patient's genome using markers.
"We believe molecular combing is a potential breakthrough technology for analyzing and detecting gene variants missed by other techniques, making it a superb complement to our next-generation sequencing offerings," Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Medical Director Charles Strom said in a statement.