NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Idera Pharmaceuticals said today that it has entered into an agreement with Abbott to develop an in vitro companion diagnostic test for use in Idera's clinical development programs to treat certain genetically defined forms of B-cell lymphoma with its lead drug candidate IMO-8400.
Under the agreement, Abbott will develop a test using PCR technology to identify the presence of the MYD88 L265P oncogenic mutation in tumor biopsy samples with high sensitivity and specificity.
This mutation, Idera said, can be identified in approximately 90 percent of patients with Waldenstrӧm's macroglobulinemia and about 30 percent of patients with the ABC subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The mutation plays a key role in activating the Toll-like receptor pathways that are targeted by IMO-8400.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.