BD, Quest Partner to Develop Companion Diagnostics

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and Quest Diagnostics are teaming up to develop, manufacture, and commercialize flow cytometry-based companion diagnostics (CDx) for cancer and other diseases.
 
The pair will aim to provide the pharmaceutical industry with an end-to-end solution for CDx development. The joint offerings will range from exploratory panel development to manufacturing and distributing U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved diagnostic kits.
 
“BD has been at the forefront of flow cytometry innovation for a half-century, consistently leading advancements in this critical field,” said Steve Conly, worldwide president of Biosciences at BD. “Our collaboration with Quest underscores a shared commitment to advance personalized medicine by leveraging this technology in the development of companion diagnostics to be used alongside therapeutic options for patients.”
 
Using companion diagnostics to help select a first-line therapy for cancer patients can be critical to ensuring the best outcomes and cost savings. Today’s companion diagnostic tests commonly involve technologies such as immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), next-generation sequencing (NGS) and imaging. Flow cytometry, an established laboratory technology now being applied in the development of companion diagnostics, can rapidly analyze and sort individual cells to enable health care providers to understand an individual’s immune response and could provide insight as to how best to manage the patient to improve clinical outcomes.
 
“This strategic collaboration with BD will combine our expertise in developing and validating biomarkers and assays with BD’s leadership in flow cytometry to offer a fully integrated solution on a larger scale,” said William Finger, vice president and general manager, Pharma Services for Quest Diagnostics. “Together, we can bring novel companion diagnostics to market that will enable more precise health care, to potentially improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs.”
 
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is striving to improve medical discovery, diagnostics, and care delivery. The company develops technology, services, and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for healthcare providers. BD and its more than 70,000 employees help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians’ care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers’ capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations worldwide to address some of the most challenging global health issues. 
 
Quest Diagnostics provides diagnostic insights from the results of its laboratory testing to improve health outcomes. Derived from one of the world’s largest databases of de-identifiable clinical lab results, Quest’s diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and employs nearly 50,000 workers.