NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Biocartis announced today that it has received an exclusive worldwide license for EGFR ectodomain mutations that have been shown to determine responses to targeted therapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
The new agreement integrates two existing agreements with the Hospital Del Mar and researchers Alberto Bardelli and Sabrina Arena from the University of Torino, in relation to two patent families of EGFR ectodomain mutations. The licensing deal includes the EGFR S492R resistance mutation, which was the first EGFR ectodomain mutation detected by Hospital Del Mar researchers Joan Albanell and Clara Montagut in 2012, and later licensed to Biocartis for commercialization on the Idylla platform's solid biopsy NRAS-BRAF-EGFR S492R Mutation RUO assay and liquid biopsy ctNRAS-BRAF-EGFR S492R Mutation RUO assay.
Montagut, Bardelli, and Arena collaboratively discovered additional EGFR ectodomain mutations in 2016, which are now covered by the licensing agreement.
Based on international guidelines, patients with mCRC are first tested for RAS-BRAF mutations in order to determine if they are eligible for treatment with anti-EGFR targeted therapy. However, 40 percent to 55 percent of these patients develop resistance to this therapy due to mutations in the RAS-BRAF genes and in the EGFR ectodomain, Biocartis noted.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Earlier this year, Biocartis announced a partnership with Immunexpress to enter the point of care space with a sepsis assay on the firm's Idylla platform.