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Illumina, Pillar Announce Partnership, Clinical Care Assay Released, New Tech, Methods Developed, More

August 31, 2023 | Illumina and Pillar partner up to make Pillar’s oncology assays commercially available on a global scale; C2N Diagnostics releases the PrecivityAD2 blood test, a clinical care assay that meets the standard of care with currently available PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid tests; University of Missouri researchers developed an innovative method using nanopores; more. 

 

Illumina announced a partnership with Pillar to make Pillar's suite of oncology assays commercially available globally as part of the Illumina portfolio of oncology products. The agreement will result in an offering of complementary next-generation sequencing solutions that will enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of oncology testing through advanced sequencing techniques, improving patient access to personalized cancer treatment options. Pillar's targeted assays help oncologists and researchers identify mutations that drive tumor growth. Press release

Inify Laboratories successfully launched in the second quarter 2023 with delivery of first prostate cancer diagnosis. The company has entered several strategic partnerships, one with the Swedish branch of Loomis. Loomis is a global value transport company responsible for the transport of samples from clinics to Inify’s laboratory, as well as storage and distribution of packaging materials. Press release

DCN Dx and BIOASTER announced a collaboration as part of a second grant to BIOASTER for onchocerciasis diagnosis from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Onchocerciasis—or river blindness—is a parasitic, tropical disease of the skin and eyes. Symptoms don’t appear for 1-2 years after infection. This project follows an earlier grant awarded to BIOASTER in 2019. The goal is to enhance the specificity of the Ov16-rapid diagnostic test, especially in relation to Loa loa and Mansonella perstans helminths, to achieve the 99.8% specificity as recommended by the WHO Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG). Press release

C2N Diagnostics announced the release of the PrecivityAD2 blood test, a clinical care assay that meets the standard of care with currently available PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid tests. This blood test is designed to alleviate the bottleneck and unmet needs of healthcare providers and patients in evaluating patients with signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive decline. Press release

iCAD has signed an amendment to its development and commercialization agreement with Google Health, which will enable iCAD to integrate Google’s AI technology with its ProFound Breast Health Suite for 2D Mammography for use worldwide upon regulatory approval as an independent reader for breast cancer screening for 20 years. Press release

Oxford Nanopore has announced the integration of an accelerated basecaller into the device software MinKNOW. These improvements enable the sequencing of approximately 2,500 human genomes a year on a PromethION 24 (at 30x, one genome per flow cell), by freeing up devices for subsequent experiments immediately. The acceleration delivers full genome information, including methylation data, at no additional cost. Press release

Standigm announced that it is collaborating with Nashville Biosciences, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), on early drug discovery research. Under the terms of the agreement, Standigm will use Nashville Bioscience's extensive, de-identified genomic and clinical data to build new, customized AI models for drug discovery. The mission of the collaboration is to accelerate early-stage drug discovery. Press release

C2i Genomics announced its collaboration with the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), Israel's leading multidisciplinary healthcare institution. Together, the organizations will provide precision oncology clinical testing using C2inform, C2i Genomics' whole genome minimal residual disease (MRD) test to improve cancer detection and monitoring nationwide. Through the partnership, C2i Genomics' and its whole-genome-based assay will be integrated into a nationwide healthcare system for the first time. With Ichilov Hospital Labs serving as the reference lab for cancer hospitals across Israel, C2inform tests will become accessible to the entire population of Israel, accounting for nearly 10 million people. Through this collaboration, sequencing with WGS of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and matched tumors of cancer patients will be performed by Ichilov's Pathology Institute. Press release

Sunbird Bio has completed a merger with Glympse Bio to accelerate development of the companies’ protein-based diagnostic platforms. The merged company, which will operate as Sunbird Bio, Inc., brings together two leaders in the protein diagnostics field with the technology, resources, and expertise to drive paradigm-shifting success and improve patient outcomes. Financial details of the merger were not disclosed. The newly combined Sunbird Bio will have U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., with operational headquarters in Singapore. Press release

University of Missouri researchers developed an innovative method using nanopores to help scientists advance their discoveries in neuroscience and other medical applications. The technique involves aptamers, or single strands of DNA or RNA molecules that selectively bind to a specific target. This allows researchers to know exactly what they are detecting with the nanopores and study how individual molecules are interacting with each other. Press release

QIAGEN announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved of its therascreen PDGFRA RGQ PCR kit (therascreen PDGFRA kit). This companion diagnostic is intended for use to aid clinicians in identifying patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) who may be eligible for treatment with AYVAKIT (avapritinib). Press release

Global Access Diagnostics announced the launch of IT-Leish, a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The company acquired the manufacturing rights for IT-Leish from Bio-Rad in September 2022 to prevent its withdrawal from the market and has since ensured the regulatory requirements have been met for reintroduction to the market. Press release

Vital Biosciences introduced its revolutionary new product, the VitalOne. The VitalOne intends to make blood diagnostics ubiquitous by bringing more than 50 lab-grade test results that cover 95% of routine lab orders to primary care sites in the form of a simple device the size of a desktop computer. The VitalOne will allow doctors to test, diagnose, and treat patients in the course of a single visit. Patients receive their results within 20 minutes. The VitalOne is in late-stage development and is not yet available for sale. The underlying technology already has been tested and validated against thousands of samples versus gold-standard instruments with Vital’s lab partners. Press release

New Day Diagnostics has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Epigenomics AG, a molecular diagnostics company focused on blood testing for the early detection of cancer. This agreement is the successful result of negotiations previously disclosed by Epigenomics AG in their ad hoc announcement dated June 12, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, New Day Diagnostics would acquire substantially all of Epigenomics AG’s assets and intellectual property. The acquisition would expand New Day Diagnostics' portfolio in the cancer diagnostics space and include proprietary biomarker technology for the detection of methylated DNA in various cancer indications. Press release