SwastiChemEx: AstraZeneca partners with Illumina to develop next generation

Friday, 22 August 2014

AstraZeneca partners with Illumina to develop next generation

AstraZeneca has entered into a collaboration with gene sequencing company, Illumina, Inc., to develop its next generation sequencing (NGS) platform for companion diagnostic tests applicable across AstraZeneca’s oncology portfolio.

In the first instance, AstraZeneca intends to apply Illumina’s cutting-edge technology to a novel companion diagnostic test in pivotal studies for one of its investigational oncology compounds. This is expected to be one of the first NGS-based companion diagnostic tests for a novel drug in the world, and its application could speed the clinical trial process.

Illumina’s NGS technology allows rapid sequencing of multiple genes in a much faster and cheaper way than traditional DNA sequencing methods. Under the collaboration, it will be used to screen a panel of several gene sequences, scanning for all possible genetic variants — known and unknown — rather than specified mutations from a single tumour sample.

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