QIAGEN acquires circulating tumour cell technology

Netherlands-based company QIAGEN has expanded its portfolio of liquid biopsies through the acquisition of technology that enables enrichment and molecular analysis of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from blood samples. The company has also announced a partnership with Tokai Pharmaceuticals to utilise the technology for a companion diagnostic for Tokai’s drug compound galeterone, currently in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

CTCs are pivotal to understanding the biology of cancer and its metastasis - but due to the scarce amounts of CTCs in blood, their enrichment and characterisation represent a technological challenge. German company AdnaGen developed the new solution for the detection and analysis of CTCs for clinical applications which was later acquired by QIAGEN.

The method enriches disease-specific tumour cells using magnetic particles in an antibody mixture (immunomagnetic cell enrichment) then isolates and purifies messenger RNA (mRNA) for analysis using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The partnership with Tokai Pharmaceuticals will leverage the liquid biopsy technology for companion diagnostics.

The partnership aims to commercialise the first regulated, CTC-based companion diagnostic which is designed to guide the treatment of CRPC with galeterone. The diagnostic test to be paired with galeterone will measure RNA expression in CTCs to detect a biomarker known as androgen-receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7), which has been demonstrated to predict poor responsiveness to certain oral therapies for metastatic CRPC. It will run on QIAGEN’s Rotor-Gene Q MDx detection platform.

“We are pleased to be expanding our partnership with QIAGEN to support the continued development of the AR-V7 companion diagnostic that will be used in our 148 patient Phase 3 ARMOR3-SV trial of our lead product, galeterone,” said Tokai Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Jodie Morrison. “We believe that in the future, the availability of this non-invasive AR-V7 companion diagnostic will allow prostate cancer patients and physicians to make informed decisions for their care. QIAGEN’s experience in commercialising regulatory-approved companion diagnostics around the world addresses a key part of our strategy for bringing galeterone to market for CRPC patients globally.”

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