PerkinElmer launches imaging agent for breast cancer research

PerkinElmer has announced the launch of a new preclinical imaging agent that will aid the development of personalised therapies for breast cancer.

HER2Sense is the first fluorescent research imaging agent to be based on a commercialised therapeutic antibody, taking its mode of action from the Roche-developed compound trastuzumab.

It is able to specifically detect the HER2/Neu receptor for the treatment of various forms of cancer, a method that has been clinically proven to offer significant promise as a therapeutic tool.

The established efficacy of trastuzumab means that PerkinElmer's new agent will offer strong correlations between research outcomes and clinical benefits.

Kevin Hrusovsky, president for life sciences and technology at PerkinElmer, said: "This imaging agent has the potential to provide oncology researchers with revolutionary new data and insights that could influence the development of innovative methods for detecting a range of cancers."

This week, the company attended the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting where it showcased a number of new personalised medicine advances.