Thermo Fisher, AstraZeneca to co-develop NGSbased companion diagnostics

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s clinical sequencing business and AstraZeneca are co-developing next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based companion diagnostics (CDx) to support AstraZeneca’s expanding portfolio of targeted therapies. The companies will collaborate under a multiyear, global agreement. NGS-based companion diagnostics are increasingly used to match patients with new therapies for cancer and other diseases. More than 90 per cent of AstraZeneca’s clinical pipeline, across all main areas from oncology, cardiovascular and renal to metabolic and respiratory disease, are targeted precision medicine therapies. Thermo Fisher currently offers the only globally distributable NGS CDx solution approved and reimbursed by government and commercial insurers in more than 15 countries, including the US, multiple European nations, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East, and covering more than 550 million lives globally.