GE Healthcare and Affibody to create cancer imaging agent

GE Healthcare has announced a collaboration with Affibody on the development of a new HER2-targeted PET imaging agent for breast and gastric cancer.

The agent – which will be the subject of clinical studies to affirm its benefits in the diagnosis of breast cancer later this year – has already demonstrated efficacy in studies carried out by Affibody in alliance with academia.

It is thought that the compound could pave the way for better targeting of anti-HER2 therapies for patients most likely to benefit from treatment.

The alliance will make use of GE Healthcare's market expertise in this sector and its industrialisation and commercialisation capabilities, as well as Affibody's expertise in generating high-affinity binders and initial clinical data.

Marivi Mendizabal, head of research for GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics, said: "We expect a productive collaboration with leading academics and the pharma industry to help this research reach its full potential."

Last week, the company announced a collaboration with Cardiff University, which will focus on a number of innovative healthcare research projects.