NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Leica Biosystems and Synthon Biopharmaceuticals announced today a collaboration to develop and commercialize companion diagnostics for drugs aimed at treating solid tumors.
The firms will develop companion diagnostics based on Leica's Bond automated advanced staining systems for use with Synthon Bio's antibody-drug conjugates for treating solid tumors. The companies said the deal provides a framework for further collaborations but provided no details about the terms.
"This partnership with Synthon is the next example of our commitment to provide unique tests to support the management of cancer patients," Matthias Weber, president of Leica, said in a statement. "The ease of use and high staining quality of our Bond systems makes them ideal platforms on which to deploy these very informative tests."
Leica is part of Danaher and said that the work conducted under this alliance will be done at its new companion diagnostics research and development site in Danvers, Mass., with kit manufacturing being done at its site in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
Synthon Bio, based in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, is a subsidiary of specialty pharma firm Synthon.