NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Swiss firm Biocartis has acquired from Royal Philips Electronics its technology platform for rapid fully-automated DNA/RNA molecular diagnostic testing, the firms announced today.
Philips said that the platform has been designed for applications in a wide range of patient sample testing, including oncology and infectious diseases. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Philips had started a personalized medicine R&D program in the early 2000s, which included the development of the molecular diagnostics platform. However, Philips decided that the MDx platform was not a strategic fit with its operations. As a result, it decided to sell all platform-related assets, including patents and a number of Philips staff members, to Biocartis.
Biocartis will finance future developments and be responsible for commercialization of the platform, the firms said. The firm has formed a Dutch subsidiary that will collaborate with Philips, leveraging Philips’ expertise in product engineering and life science technologies.
"Biocartis' vision of the future of molecular diagnostics, the technologies they have developed within the space of a few years and the proven track record of its key management in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic sector have convinced us of the value of this agreement," Gottfried Dutiné, executive vice president and global head of markets and innovation for Philips, said in a statement.
Philips said that it also will continue efforts in the personalized medicine market, focusing on integrating molecular diagnostic information into clinical decision support systems with the objective of helping clinicians to arrive at the correct diagnosis and choice of therapy.