Metamark Genetics, a privately-held oncology molecular diagnostic company and Definiens have announced a development and commercialisation partnership in which Metamark will combine its proprietary multiplex protein detection platform with image analysis technology developed jointly with Definiens to deliver innovative prognostic and predictive assays for early-stage cancers.
Metamark’s quantitative diagnostic approach can identify and account for small regions of molecularly aggressive cancer cells within an otherwise indolent tumor. The company is developing a portfolio of prognostic and predictive assays with the ability to address the “heterogeneous” nature of tumors not only between one patient and the next, but also within an individual patient’s tumor.
“Definiens is pleased to partner with Metamark Genetics, and to incorporate our image and data analysis software technology into Metamark’s pioneering Oncology diagnostic offerings,” said Thomas Colarusso, Vice President of Sales & Operations for Definiens Inc. “The capability to provide detailed readouts from tissue analysis is opening up new gateways for developing diagnostic assays as we enter the age of personalized medicine. We believe the Definiens Developer XD and Tissue Studio software will enable Metamark to classify tumor heterogeneity of multiplexed tissue stains and derive prognostic and predictive assays.”
