Merck Serono and Sysmex Inostics ally on cancer biomarker test

Merck Serono has announced a new collaboration with Sysmex Inostics to produce new technology to aid the personalised treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

The companies will ally to develop and commercialise a blood-based RAS biomarker test for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, which will provide a real-time reflection of a patient's RAS mutation status to help guide clinical decision-making.

Blood-based biomarker testing is seen as a faster and easier approach for determining the mutation status of tumours, as it requires only a small blood sample, rather than a tissue biopsy procedure.

Identifying patients with RAS wild-type tumours will make it easier to see who will be most likely to benefit from treatment with Merck Serono's drug Erbitux, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody therapy that is most effective against this form of cancer.

Belen Garijo, president and chief executive officer of Merck Serono, said: "This collaboration reflects our commitment to leveraging our expertise in personalised medicine and predictive biomarkers in order to enhance Erbitux's value proposition for patients, physicians and payers."

This comes after the company earlier this year launched its Oncology Partnership and Education Network, which aims to improve patient outcomes in metastatic colorectal cancer worldwide.