Johnson and Johnson’s Veridex completes acquisition

A Johnson & Johnson company has announced it has completed the acquisition of the assets of Immunicon Corporation.

Veridex said the assets include clinical data, intellectual property and a diagnostic test called CellSearch System.

CellSearch System is the first test to automatically detect and enumerate circulating tumour cells.

These are cancerous cells which have detached from the tumour and entered the blood stream.

According to Veridex: “The CellSearch System is currently cleared for the prognosis and monitoring of patients with metastatic breast, metastatic colorectal and metastatic prostate cancer.”

Veridex is a company which provides doctors with in vitro diagnostic oncology products.

Along with CellSearch the organisation also provides the GeneSearch Breast Lymph Node Assay.

This test is based on molecular technology and can analyse up to half of the lymph node.

GeneSearch can result in quicker objective results and fewer hospital stays and second surgeries among patients, according to Veridex.