Singapore: China based diagnostic company, Shuwen Biotech, and pharmaceutical firm, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine have partnered to build companion diagnostics for cancer.

Shuwen Biotech will develop companion diagnostic assays and kits for an unidentified anticancer drug being developed by Hengrui. Hengrui will also entrust Shuwen to screen patients at Shuwen's diagnostic reference labs using the diagnostic assays for Hengrui's clinical trials. Shuwen will manufacture and market the diagnostic kit upon regulatory approval.

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Shuwen Biotech. Companion diagnostics is an increasingly important component of our drug development. Shuwen is an emerging leader in personalized cancer diagnostics. Shuwen's capabilities in both IVD kits and reference laboratory testing make it an ideal partner in companion diagnostics for our innovative drug development," commented Dr Lianshan Zhang, president, global R&D, Hengrui.

"Hengrui Medicine is a leader in targeted therapies for cancer with a full pipeline of innovative drugs in development," stated Mr Jay Z Zhang, chairman and CEO, Shuwen Biotech. "This partnership is testimony to the expertise and full capabilities in companion diagnostics we can provide in development, manufacturing, marketing and testing services to our partners and eventually physicians and patients."

According to FDA, companion diagnostics are medical devices that help doctors decide which treatments to offer patients and which dosage to give, tailored specifically to the patient