QIAGEN Partners to Develop Novel Companion Diagnostic in Lung Cancer

QIAGEN N.V. has announced a partnership with Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. to co-develop and commercialize a companion diagnostic test to guide the use of Mirati’s glesatinib (MGCD265), a targeted therapy under development for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The companies aim to create a regulator-approved test to personalize treatment decisions in NSCLC by detecting RNA biomarkers produced by exon 14 skipping mutations of the MET gene.

“We are pleased to partner with Mirati to commercialize a standardized companion diagnostic paired with glesatinib, a compound now in Phase II trials for NSCLC patients with cancer-driving MET alterations. Delivering insights on these clinically actionable variants holds potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes,” said Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN. “This companion diagnostic for glesatinib is the initial effort under a master collaboration agreement and we continue to discuss potential future projects across various sample types and platforms, such as PCR and NGS, to further expand targeted diagnostic capabilities in this arena.”

"As Mirati advances therapies targeting genetic alterations responsible for driving cancer growth, we are pleased to partner with QIAGEN, which has developed and marketed regulator-approved companion diagnostics for a wide range of genomic biomarkers,” said Charles M. Baum, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Mirati. "Mirati’s targeted oncology programs depend on companion diagnostics to select the patients who will benefit the most from treatment.”

QIAGEN is at the forefront globally in developing companion diagnostics using genomic insights to guide the selection of medicines for cancer and other diseases. The company already markets Personalized Healthcare kits covering about 30 biomarkers, spanning a variety of automation platforms and biological sample types. QIAGEN continues to expand its pipeline of Sample to Insight technologies for personalized healthcare and intends to submit more tests for regulatory clearance or approval. Numerous co-development partnerships are underway with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, some publicly disclosed but most not individually announced.