text: Netherlands-based QIAGEN has signed an exclusive partnership with California-based population genomics firm Helix to advance next-generation sequencing companion diagnostics in hereditary diseases.
  According to the terms of the agreement, QIAGEN will be Helix’s exclusive marketing and contracting partner in the US for the latter’s companion diagnostic services.
  The collaboration will make use of the Helix Laboratory Platform, which was given the first-ever de novo class II authorisation by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for a whole exome sequencing platform.
  In addition to the solutions already offered by the two firms, the collaboration brings a new advanced solution to biopharmaceutical customers supporting hereditary disease therapies.
  QIAGEN CEO Thierry Bernard said: “This partnership represents another step toward bringing the power of companion diagnostics to hereditary diseases by powering Helix’s leading products with QIAGEN’s extensive pharma and biopharma relationships, NGS capabilities, and global regulatory expertise.
  “Access to a genomic database can help researchers find patients with particular biomarker signatures almost instantaneously, making trial recruitment a matter of months instead of years.”
  QIAGEN has over 30 master partnership agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to create and market companion diagnostic tests for their drug prospects.
  The companion diagnostic products offered by the Dutch sample to insight solutions provider cover a range of technologies, including next-generation sequencing (NGS), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and digital PCR (dPCR), sample types, including liquid biopsy and tissue, and disease areas, including cancer and Parkinson’s.
  Helix CEO and co-founder James Lu said: “Helix’s technology and regulatory capabilities coupled with QIAGEN’s well-established worldwide companion diagnostic development capabilities results in a powerful partnership that will allow us to expand critical access to genomic testing for both patients and providers working daily to fight life-threatening conditions.
  “QIAGEN’s mission to fill the clinical gap for patient access and provide technology platform options to address the needs of physicians to target treatment with genomic medicine is well in line with our mission.”