Qiagen Partners with Sysmex for Development and Commercialization of Cancer Companion Diagnostics

QIAGEN N.V. (Venlo, Netherlands) and Sysmex Corporation (Kobe, Japan) have entered into a global strategic alliance for the development and commercialization of cancer companion diagnostics, which will leverage both QIAGEN’s leadership in this field and Sysmex’s Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology for next generation sequencing (NGS).

The alliance aims to foster collaborations with pharmaceutical companies for the development of drug treatments for cancer and promote early clinical adoption of ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy companion diagnostics. QIAGEN and Sysmex have a longstanding partnership, which, for example, provides the ipsogen JAK2 blood-cancer test in Japan. Cancer companion-diagnostics products will be launched by QIAGEN and Sysmex in various regions of the world.

Genetic analysis of tumors makes it possible to identify the genes responsible for the development and spread of a tumor and to target treatment accordingly. But the traditional analysis of solid tumors is constrained by their heterogeneity - varying concentrations of cancer cells, for example - and by sample availability. Liquid biopsy addresses these challenges and, in combination with sensitive NGS, allows the evaluation of patients at different points of their cancer treatment. It enables doctors to spot new anomalies and adjust treatments to make them more precise, and to develop novel targeted therapies.

“Combining QIAGEN’s global reach with Sysmex’s NGS capabilities is an important milestone in advancing the use of NGS technologies in clinical decision-making and is a testament to our shared vision of using this powerful technology to improve outcomes for patients worldwide,” said Jean-Pascal Viola, Senior Vice President, Head of the Molecular Diagnostics Business Area and Corporate Business Development at QIAGEN. “This alliance will add strong NGS capabilities to our regulatory and clinical expertise and commercialization, and help our partners in the pharmaceuticals industry by expanding our strong position and product offering in companion diagnostics. We look forward to this alliance creating significant benefits for our pharma partners - and ultimately for treating patients.”

“The alliance with QIAGEN promises Sysmex a great application for Sysmex’s Plasma-Safe-SeqS technology, which can detect gene mutations of cancer in blood with ultra-high sensitivity. We believe that QIAGEN is the best for Sysmex to expand this globally,” said Hiroshi Kanda, Member of the Managing Board and Senior Executive Officer, Head of Corporate Business Development at Sysmex.

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QIAGEN N.V.
Sysmex Corporation