NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Cancer Genetics today said that it and Nikon's Italian subsidiaries have entered into a distribution agreement covering Cancer Genetics' DNA probes intended for fluorescent in situ hybridization.
The deal between Cancer Genetics Italia and Nikon Instruments SpA is also anticipated to expand into other countries in Western Europe, where more than 350,000 FISH-based diagnostic tests are performed annually, Rutherford, NJ-based Cancer Genetics said.
Nikon offers microscopes and imaging software systems that improve workflow efficiency and reduce subjectivity in cytogenetics laboratories. Its technology in combination with Cancer Genetics' DNA-FISH probes "will allow laboratories to perform simultaneous multicolor FISH testing with complex image analysis in academic and clinical settings," Cancer Genetics, which went public last month, said.
In Italy about 70,000 FISH-based tests are carried out each year, and the partnership announced today is expected "to rapidly gain market share in Italy through the offering of a complete solution, including microscopy and reagents, to cytogenetics and cancer laboratories."
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"This partnership allows us to complete our instrumentation and consumables line for FISH applications," said Nikon's Cristiana Ricci. "Nikon has developed, especially for the oncology/hematology field, a microspots system to investigate FISH on a microchannel, and CGI Italia's probes are very important to complete our full solution offer for our customers."