This story has been updated to include additional comments about the collaboration from an I-Mab spokesman.
NEW YORK – Biopharmaceutical company I-Mab announced on Monday that it has entered a strategic collaboration with Roche Diagnostics to codevelop companion diagnostics solutions.
The Shanghai-based company said in a statement that the two companies would jointly develop companion diagnostics for I-Mab's assets under development to accelerate the R&D process of its biologics.
A spokesperson for I-Mab said the first project under the collaboration would be the development of a companion diagnostic test for a solid tumor-associated antibody by immunohistochemistry.
The new collaboration builds on a previous agreement between Ventana and I-Mab, he added.
According to the firm's website, it has five investigational drugs in or ready to enter clinical trials in China, including drugs for multiple myeloma and autoimmune diseases, pediatric growth hormone deficiency, ulcerative colitis, head and neck cancer, and oncology-related lymphopenia.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
I-Mab CEO Joan Shen said in a statement that "Roche Diagnostics' world-leading CDx technology will complement I-Mab's innovation efforts and accelerate the clinical research and development of our innovative pipeline." She added that the collaboration would "benefit cancer patients."