Thermo Fisher Scientific Signs Companion Diagnostic Agreement With Boehringer Ingelheim

To support emerging precision therapies and improve patient outcomes by increasing access to reliable genomic testing needed to match patients with targeted cancer treatments, Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced a companion diagnostic (CDx) partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Through this collaboration, the companies will work to develop CDx tests to help identify patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with specific genomic mutations.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers, with 2.2 million cases worldwide in 2020 and is the leading cause of cancer death in both Japan[i] and the U.S.[ii]  The collaboration will leverage the Oncomine Dx Express Test* on the Ion Torrent Genexus Dx System* as well as the Oncomine Dx Target Test.**

“Our proven track record of co-developing CDx tests reinforces our commitment to working with leading pharma companies to ensure patients may have immediate access to these targeted therapies once approved,” said Garret Hampton, president of clinical next-generation sequencing and oncology at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Boehringer Ingelheim has made a generational commitment to transforming cancer care, and we’re excited to be supporting their pipeline as they work to ensure the appropriate tests are available to match eligible patients with emerging targeted therapies.”

Boehringer Ingelheim has the aspiration to transform the lives of people with cancer by delivering meaningful advances, with the ultimate goal of curing a range of cancers. By partnering with Thermo Fisher, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to develop multiple companion diagnostic tests to ensure that labs using a variety of testing technologies will have the ability to match eligible patients with emerging NSCLC treatments as they become available.

A recently published, real-world study in stage 4 NSCLC found that patients whose treatments were initiated before genomic insights were available experienced inferior outcomes, supporting the need for more rapid molecular testing.[iii] Thermo Fisher’s Oncomine Dx Express Test in combination with the Genexus Dx System offers a fully integrated, NGS platform that can test a patient’s tumor biopsy or blood specimen, returning actionable results in as little as 24 hours. The Genexus Dx System delivers a turnkey, end-to-end NGS system that requires as little as 10 minutes of hands-on time, simplifying the testing workflow and making this technology feasible for more labs.

The Oncomine Dx Target Test remains the only distributed NGS CDx kit that has received regulatory approval and is available in 18 countries worldwide for 17 targeted therapies.