Philips Collaborates with Janssen on Handheld Test for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Royal Philips (Amsterdam, Netherlands) has entered into a multiyear development agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (Beerse, Belgium) to develop a novel point-of-care (POC) blood test to improve the care of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.

The collaboration unites Philips’ expertise in POC diagnostics and monitoring applications for hospital and home with Janssen’s strength in discovering and developing innovative solutions to treat brain disorders. Philips will be responsible for development and manufacturing of the handheld test, which will be based on Philips’ “Minicare” system currently under development. Janssen will be responsible for the clinical validation studies, as well as commercialization of the final product. Minicare is part of Philips’ Handheld Diagnostics business (Eindhoven, Netherlands), which will be expanding its production capacity in light of the new partnership.

The blood test will be based on Minicare I-20 for immunoassays, which consists of a handheld analyzer, dedicated software, and a single-use, disposable cartridge containing the application-specific test. Based on Philips’ proprietary biosensor technology, Minicare I -20 is being developed to detect multiple target molecules at low concentrations within a single blood sample and to provide the results on the analyzer display within minutes.

“Our technology can play an important role in the management of chronic diseases,” said Frans van Houten, CEO, Royal Philips, “Better care for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders is a key driver to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs. The collaboration with Janssen is a great example of our open innovation business model, combining their strength in neuroscience with the biosensor technology in our Minicare I-20 platform.”

“Going forward, I firmly believe that the Minicare system consisting of the analyzer and application-specific cartridges and software can be tailored to a wide range of other pharmaceuticals,” added Mr. Van Houten.

Related Links:
Royal Philips
Janssen Pharmaceutica