NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – HTG Molecular Diagnostics today announced it has licensed Merck's breast cancer biomarker patent portfolio.
The license allows HTG to develop, manufacture, and commercialize tests based on the portfolio, which is co-owned by the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
HTG CEO T.J. Johnson said that the firm intends to pursue approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for tests that provide "compelling medical value" and to make them available to local laboratories. "This patent portfolio license from Merck gives HTG access to key intellectual property to bring valuable breast cancer tests to market," he said in a statement.
Based in Tucson, Ariz., HTG announced in June a partnership with the John Wayne Cancer Institute to commercialize melanoma assays. Earlier in the year it inked a companion diagnostic deal with Sanofi US.