NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Foundation Medicine and Incyte have partnered to develop and commercialize companion diagnostics, the companies said today.
The initial focus will be on developing a CDx for Incyte's FGFR1/2/3 inhibitor, pemigatinib, to treat patients with cholangiocarcinoma. This will include the detection of activating FGFR2 translocations. The companies expect to incorporate the CDx into Foundation Medicine's existing US Food and Drug Administration-approved assay, FoundationOne CDx.
Steven Stein, Incyte's chief medical officer, said in a statement that Incyte is currently evaluating pemigatinib in metastatic or surgically unresectable cholangiocarcinoma patients as part of the FIGHT (fibroblast growth factor receptor in oncology and hematology trials) clinical development program and plans to present initial data at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting next month.
"We're committed to helping our biopharma partners bring biomarker-driven therapies to cancer patients," said Melanie Nallicheri, chief business officer and head of biopharma at Foundation Medicine, in a statement.
Foundation Medicine recently became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roche. The company has CDx development and research agreements with several other pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Bristol-Myers Squib, and Pfizer.