Qiagen NV (NYSE:QGEN) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO) have moved into a new master collaboration agreement. The two companies will make joint efforts to develop wide-ranging products to serve as complements for INOVIO’s wide-ranging therapies. QIAGEN reveals that they have already mobilized funds to support the development of the liquid biopsy-based companion* diagnostic products. The companies will rely upon the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology in the development of top-notch products.
The partnership
The two businesses have partnered before, and the recent collaboration marks one of a series of partnerships between the two businesses. QIAGEN is quite pleased about the new expanded collaboration, outlining that the initial project is part of the plans underway to develop leading solutions for women struggling with advanced cervical dysplasia. Experts say that the above condition is always linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV).
QIAGEN and INOVIO Pharmaceuticals will embark on a series of diagnostics tests that will help identify women that could benefit from INOVIO’s immunotherapy called VGX-3100. The company in question has, over the years, made major improvements in the development of products that enable it to treat women struggling with advanced cervical dysplasia. The tests conducted over the years focus on areas that matter, including the close link to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is known to worsen the condition and cause significant discomfort.
The quest to develop leading products
QIAGEN will take advantage of its bioinformatic expertise on its quest to boost INOVIO’s preliminary biomarker signature’s predictive power. The company will, later on, come up with an assay that will help it with its production activities at the Illumina NextSeq™ 550Dx platform.
INOVIO discloses that VGX-3100 is its late-stage DNA immunotherapy candidate, outlining that it has greater plans for global patients in the future. Reports show VGX-3100 being in two Phase 3 trials, and those are REVEAL 1 and REVEAL 2. These businesses exude confidence in VGX-3100, outlining that it might turn out to be the trusted non-surgical treatment for advanced pre-cancerous cervical lesions.
INOVIO’s President, Dr. J. Joseph Kim, is pleased about the latest developments, praising the company for advancing its DNA medicines platform. He outlines that they will continue utilizing their technology to come up with working solutions for patients.
