Thermo Fisher Scientific and Samsung Electronics to Collaborate on POC Dx

To answer the healthcare industry’s demand for better point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. have formed a strategic collaboration. The companies will jointly design, develop and market new POC solutions in key applications, such as the detection of sepsis, drugs of abuse and therapeutic drug monitoring as well as the detection of cardiac problems and women’s health conditions.

“Samsung has developed a compelling and innovative suite of POC platforms,” said Marc Tremblay, Ph.D., president of Thermo Fisher’s clinical diagnostics business. “We look forward to working with Samsung to add some of our leading biomarkers and assays to their platforms to create a truly differentiated testing menu.”

“We are very excited to leverage Thermo Fisher Scientific’s strong commercial sales and service channels, as well as the potential to offer a broader range of tests to our customers and their patients,” said Soo-In Cho, president and head of the health & medical equipment business at Samsung. “This strategic collaboration combines the strengths of two industry leaders to accelerate POC innovation and more rapidly bring solutions to market.”

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), POC testing enables patient diagnoses in a physician’s office; an ambulance; anywhere in the field, including a home; or in a hospital. This facilitates more rapid diagnosis and treatment. In its “fact sheet,” the NIH writes: “Empowering clinicians to make decisions at the ‘point-of-care’ has the potential to significantly impact health care delivery and to address the challenges of health disparities.”