China Medical Technologies Inc (CMED), a China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) company, and Leica Biosystems, a division of Leica Microsystems, have established a sales, research, and development collaboration to codevelop and market automated FISH kits to be used on the Leica BOND system. CMED will sell the automated FISH kits in China and Leica will have an option to sell the FISH kits in the rest of the world.
Under the collaboration, CMED and Leica Microsystems will jointly develop automated FISH solutions for tissue sample tests on HER-2, EGFR, and TOP2A on the Leica BOND system, an automated staining platform. HER-2, EGFR, and TOP2A are genes in connection with the targeted cancer therapy drugs for breast cancer, lung cancer, and stomach cancer patients. Automation of these FISH tests on the Leica BOND system will enable pathology laboratories and independent service laboratories to run these diagnostic tests more efficiently and with higher and more consistent quality. The automation of FISH tests will also help users to reduce the workload pressure created by increasing test volumes. Both parties agreed to add further FISH applications into the collaboration during the term, including for cytology and pre-natal applications.
Source: Leica Microsystems
