OncoDNA of Belgium provides first partnership in Molecular Diagnostics outside of the US for CollabRx, Inc

Diagnostics Home_Spotlight — 19 April 2013

Belgium based OncoDNA SA, a company providing DNA next generation sequencing (NGS) tests for clinical use in cancer, recently announced a multi-year agreement to purchase CollabRx‘s SaaS-based technology and content resources. The US–based data analytics company, focused on informing clinical decision-making in molecular medicine, will provide new technology and content resources to be used in conjunction with OncoDNA’s cancer mutation panels.
With this partnership, OncoDNA continues to fulfill its aim of providing medical innovations based on targeted sequencing or complete sequencing of tumor genomes, in order to assist medical doctors in their treatment choices and provide better monitoring in regard to tumor development in the patient. (see article Nov. 2012).

Together OncoDNA and CollabRx will develop a combined test and medical informatics solution by pairing the results of OncoDNA’s cancer mutational panels with CollabRx’s clinically actionable and dynamically updated knowledge. Such knowledge includes the clinical impact of specific mutational profiles and associated therapeutic strategies comprising drugs and clinical trials of which is supported by a large, growing network of over 75 leading clinical practitioners throughout the U.S. and Europe. Jean-Pol Detiffe, Founder & CEO of OncoDNA, has mentioned that although NGS-based tests are increasingly becoming a routine part of clinical care for cancer patients, the complexity of the genetic data received from tumor mutations is outpacing the ability for physicians to remain up-to-date with advanced treatments. This partnership will help narrow this knowledge gap and enable physicians who order the OncoDNA tests accessibility to the highly credible knowledge that is provided by CollabRx so as to aid in the interpretation of test results.

As for CollabRx, Chairman, President and CEO Thomas Mika, acknowledges that working with OncoDNA will allow the company to establish a leadership position in the clinical NGS market in Europe by providing clinically relevant interpretations of test results to the physicians ordering such test as part of the reporting process. As CollabRx’s first partnership outside the United States, the collaboration with OncoDNA is expected to leverage the company’s semantic integration platform; a proprietary technology that allows CollabRx scientists and physicians to dynamically update its molecular oncology knowledge base using the latest medical and scientific data available in the public domain.

Aside from demonstrating open innovation, cross-border channeling and international development for both OncoDNA and CollabRx, this partnership seems to be a welcomed collaboration that will enable physicians accessibility to highly credible knowledge so as to aid in the interpretation of test results that ultimately could lead to earlier or even pre-cancer treatment options.