NEW YORK – Sysmex and Hitachi High-Tech said Wednesday that they will jointly develop low-cost capillary electrophoresis sequencing-based systems for genetic testing.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Japanese firms said the collaboration follows the conclusion of a joint feasibility study last August on the development of new genetic testing systems that combine Hitachi High-Tech's CE sequencer technology with Sysmex's know-how in next-generation sequencing reagent development and analysis technology. The goal is to develop systems that reduce turnaround time and costs.
Hitachi High-Tech will seek regulatory approval as medical devices for any CE sequencers that are developed under the agreement, and Sysmex will develop and seek regulatory approval for testing reagents for use with those sequencers, as well as develop analysis software.
The firms said they plan to first apply those technologies to genetic tests for use in oncology and later expand into other disease areas.
Hitachi also inked a deal in 2022 with Invivoscribe on combining their expertise and technologies to develop molecular diagnostics for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring.