Roche agrees technology licensing deal with Qiagen

Roche has licensed additional EGFR pathway-related intellectual property to Qiagen for an undisclosed fee.

This deal includes the provision of non-exclusive licences to recently-granted Roche patents pertaining to the detection of mutations in the EGFR pathway, including in the KRAS gene.

Applying to testing products for the detection of mutations, the technology uses molecular techniques – including PCR next-generation sequencing and other applications – to help identify cancer patients eligible for treatment with certain tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

The licences can be applied to existing and future products, with the deal expanding Qiagen's existing intellectual property portfolio to cover more than 35 biomarkers.

Paul Brown, head of Roche Molecular Diagnostics, said: "As a leader in molecular assay development, we are pleased to provide licences to the applicable patents so that existing and new tests can support patient treatment decisions."

This comes after the firm recently agreed a deal to acquire the molecular diagnostics testing service provider Ariosa Diagnostics, facilitating its entry to the non-invasive prenatal test and cell-free DNA testing services markets.