NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Avantra Biosciences and MedTrust Online today announced that they will collaborate on involving physicians in early-stage development of molecular diagnostic assays to run on Avantra's QPDx multiplex system.
Under the deal, the firms plan to provide more than 10,000 physicians with protein biomarkers implicated in a variety of cancers. As Avantra identifies biomarkers of interest, MedTrust will use its Knowledge Medicine platform to engage oncologists in online discussions that will validate the role of different panels in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment efficacy.
Woburn, Mass.-based Avantra recently launched its Q400 Biomarker Workstation and AngioGenQx BioChip immunoassay. The firm said the system provides quantitative protein biomarker results for 10 analytes in less than an hour, with only five minutes required for sample preparation.
Avantra said that it plans to develop assays for ovarian, pancreatic, lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers. It also is exploring the potential development of assays for infectious diseases, including an upcoming panel for sepsis.
"This partnership will provide cancer doctors with powerful biomarker assays that can be validated with clinical insights about their utility at the point of care," MedTrust CEO Christopher Yoo said in a statement. "The result of this joint effort will be better decisions based on the most accurate molecular knowledge available about an individual patient's disease."
Financial and other terms of the alliance were not disclosed.