Dako and Ono to create companion diagnostic test for Opdivo

Dako has announced a new collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical to create a PD-L1 companion diagnostic test for use with the cancer drug Opdivo.

The test will be investigated for its diagnostic utility to determine which patients with non-small cell lung cancer are most likely to respond to treatment with Opdivo. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Opdivo is being developed in partnership between Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb. It is a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor that binds to the checkpoint receptor PD-1, as expressed on activated T-cells.

This is the latest in a series of collaborative agreements in the field of personalised medicine and companion diagnostics by Dako, a subsidiary of the larger life science company Agilent Technologies.

Jacob Thaysen, president of Agilent's diagnostics and genomics group, said: "We are pleased to be chosen as Ono's partner for the development of a companion diagnostic test for this promising drug."

Last month, the company agreed a deal with Cell Signaling Technology (CST) that will see Dako utilise antibodies supplied by CST for use in future companion diagnostic products.