NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Metamark Genetics said today that it has signed a deal to become the exclusive worldwide sales agent for Hologic's Progensa PCA3 prostate cancer assay. The companies have also agreed to collaborate on a second-generation version of the test.
The Progensa test is designed to measure overexpression of prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) RNA in urine samples and was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2012 for use on Hologic's semi-automated DTS system.
PCA3 is a proprietary biomarker originally owned by Canada's DiagnoCure, which co-developed the assay with Hologic under a 2003 alliance. Having previously expressed concerns about how Hologic was handling commercialization of the test, in late December DiagnoCure sold its rights to PCA3 to Hologic subsidiary Gen-Probe.
Now, with full rights to the Progensa PCA3 biomarker, Hologic announced that Metamark will take over all commercialization efforts around the assay.
"Metamark's success in delivering high-value diagnostic and prognostic tests for the prostate oncology market provides a strong foundation for this collaboration," Tom West, president of diagnostic solutions at Hologic, said in a statement. "We very much look forward to leveraging Metamark's proven urological cancer care expertise as we seek to expand our footprint in the field of prostate oncology."
As part of their deal, the companies have also agreed to work together on a second-generation version of the prostate cancer test that will run on Hologic's Panther, a fully automated molecular diagnostic system, and be targeted to high- and low-volume labs.
Metamark will have the right to co-promote the new test in certain undisclosed territories.
Financial and other terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.