NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – OvaGene Oncology and Etta Healthcare said yesterday that they have entered into a worldwide, exclusive alliance to commercialize multiplexed diagnostic tests to monitor gynecologic cancer and pre-cancerous conditions.
The partnership will leverage Etta's in vitro diagnostics platform and OvaGene's research, clinical validation, and translational expertise, the companies said. OvaGene intends to provide physicians with simple-to-use, rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests that will allow healthcare workers to perform multiplexed tests using a drop of blood.
Irvine, California-based OvaGene is focused on improving cancer care and outcomes for gynecologic cancer patients through the development of novel gene-based assays. Etta is a molecular diagnostics company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its platform is a volumetric lab-on-a-chip that allows healthcare workers to perform multiplexed laboratory tests at the point of care with a drop of blood and no analyzer.
The eventual OvaGene point-of-care device "is intended to be used on blood and other body fluids as needed" and can be used to "detect and quantitate proteins, DNA, RNA, miRNA, and SNPs," OvaGene CEO Frank Kiesner told GenomeWeb in an email.
The partnership extends to additional proprietary signatures in OvaGene's product development pipeline, and includes future opportunities to pursue research studies, clinical trials, and the development of novel new tests. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.