Sequenom and SensiGen Enter into Alliance to Develop and Commercialize Human Papillomavirus Test
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Sequenom, Inc. and SensiGen LLC have announced a collaborative agreement to jointly market SensiGen's AttoSense™ tests. SensiGen's methodology utilizes Sequenom's QGE gene expression technology and MassARRAY® system for the detection of major diseases, including cervical cancer, chronic kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.
The two companies will jointly market tests and systems to commercial reference laboratories worldwide. Under the agreement, Sequenom will exclusively supply the platform technology used for commercializing SensiGen's proprietary tests. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sequenom's MassARRAY technology couples DNA analysis techniques with mass spectrometry to enable superior levels of sensitivity and specificity in identifying genes and gene products. Using this technology, the AttoSense™assay method can detect DNA from a wide range of biological specimens, including virus, bacterium or cell, from any biological sample, including blood, urine and tissue.
"By integrating SensiGen's assays and our MassARRAY technology, we expect to produce next-generation diagnostics that offer dramatic improvement in the early detection of a variety of major diseases," said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Sequenom.
"We are excited about the opportunity to work with SensiGen to offer its important tests worldwide. This agreement marks a significant milestone in our strategic commitment to commercialize advanced diagnostic assays and is complementary to our current development of a portfolio of proprietary non-invasive prenatal tests based on our Fetal Nucleic Acid Technology."
The AttoSense™ HPV Test for early detection of cervical cancer, the first diagnostic test to be developed and marketed under the agreement, is expected to be submitted in 2009 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval.
Both the Companies expect that this test is at least two orders of magnitude more sensitive than currently marketed tests, and has the potential to eliminate nearly all false negative results.
