Abbott has announced that it is to expand its existing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. to include the development of an additional companion diagnostic test.

Companion diagnostic tests aid physicians in studying the progress of disease, helping them to provide the most appropriate therapy for each individual patient. Abbott and GlaxoSmithKline have existing agreements (July 2009 and March 2010), which have focused on the development of PCR tests to screen non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma tumors for expression of the MAGE-A2 antigen. 

The expanded agreement will allow Abbott to develop a PRAME screening PCR test for use on the Abbott m2000rt^TM, in support of GSK’s cancer immunotherapy research program. PRAME is a preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma that is expressed in 69 percent of non-small cell lung cancer cases. It is also expressed in melanoma, breast, ovarian and bladder cancers, with limited expression in normal cells. 

"This expanded collaboration, along with Abbott's other recently announced partnerships in oncology, demonstrates the continued commitment Abbott is making to assess biomarkers linked to immunotherapies in various cancers," said Stafford O'Kelly, head of Abbott's molecular diagnostics business. "This agreement is a testament to the scientific advances Abbott and the industry is making in personalized medicine and companion diagnostics, which are helping ensure the right medicines get to the right cancer patients."