NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Molecular diagnostics firm Multiplicom announced today that it has received a €1.9 million ($2.1 million) grant from the Belgian government to support its development of technologies and next-generation sequencing tests for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.
Multiplicom said that the funded work will be conducted in collaboration with VIB Laboratory of Translational Genetics, Vesalius Research Centre, KULeuven, University Hospital Leuven, and Antwerp University Hospital.
"The development of advanced tools and tests will greatly improve the management of cancer patients," Multiplicom CTO Jurgen Del Favero said in a statement. "It will enable oncologists to more precisely determine specific treatments per patient, monitor treatment outcomes, and detect therapy resistance in a cost- and time-efficient manner."
Multiplicom currently offers target amplification assays for diagnostic use and clinical research that are based on a proprietary multiplex PCR technology called multiplex amplification of specific targets for resequencing, or MASTR. Among its offerings is BRCA MASTR Dx, which amplifies the coding regions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to detect germline mutations in individuals with an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.