BD and Navigate BioPharma Announce Strategic Collaboration to Advance Flow Cytometry-Based Companion Diagnostics and Clinical Decision Tools

Recently, Navigate BioPharma, a subsidiary of Novartis, announced,The company has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Becton Dickinson to assist in the development and commercialization of companion diagnostics and clinical decision-making tools utilizing flow cytometry.

Navigate BioPharma is a professional laboratory providing precision medicine solutions and bioanalytical services. It was established in 2017 when Novartis sold the commercial laboratory portion of its Genoptix subsidiary but retained and renamed the Genoptix biopharmaceutical business.

Through this collaboration, BD and Navigate BioPharma aim to provide end-to-end solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop tests that match patient treatments, Navigate BioPharma stated in a release. The collaboration also aims to address an issue in the clinical trial field by providing an integrated solution provider from method development to commercialization, the company said.

BD’s Vice President of Clinical Flow Solutions, Vipin Bhambhani, noted in a statement that flow cytometry is "a powerful technology that enables highly sensitive, affordable testing with the ability to rapidly provide results." The collaboration between the two companies will "combine Navigate BioPharma's extensive experience in designing and validating biomarker assays for clinical trials and regulatory submissions with...BD's extensive portfolio of flow cytometry instruments, reagents, software, and IVD development services"，which may help accelerate the promotion of personalized therapies, he added.

Partners are expected to collaborate with biopharmaceutical companies to use biomarker-based assays as tools for clinical trials or companion diagnostics for cancer and other diseases.

They will also explore the development of highly sensitive minimal residual disease monitoring assays and provide flexible and integrated solutions to help partners achieve their clinical and regulatory goals by leveraging the capabilities of flow cytometry.

Finally, they plan to expand the range of analyzable treatment options and biomarkers to include complex targets and drug combinations, rare cell populations, as well as cellular signaling and function.

IVD Practitioners Network Translation