Genzyme, Hospitals to Develop Gene Test
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. has entered into an exclusive agreement with two Boston hospitals to develop a gene test that can be used to identify patients who are most likely to respond to certain lung cancer drugs.
Teams of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported in April 2004 that some drugs appear to work only in non-small cell lung cancer that has mutated a certain way.
The mutations, discovered in the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, gene, help predict which patients will respond to targeted therapies, including the drugs Iressa, manufactured by AstraZeneca PLC, and Tarceva, made by OSI Pharmaceuticals.
The licensing agreement with Cambridge-based Genzyme announced Monday will allow the company to develop and market a diagnostic test for the EGFR markers, which could benefit thousands battling the nation’s top cancer killer because they will be able to start taking the drugs sooner while avoiding other drugs that either don’t work or cause unnecessary side effects.
Genzyme expects to launch its EGFR mutation test later this year.
"Our EGFR diagnostic will assist physicians in identifying the right therapy, for the right patient, at the right time," said Mara Aspinall, president of Genzyme Genetics.
Iressa and Tarceva have helped some cancer patients significantly, but fail to help most.
Teams of researchers at both hospitals published studies that showed the majority of patients who had the mutations responded to the therapy, while those who did not have the EGFR mutations did not respond.
Shares of Genzyme, which reported 2004 sales of $2.2 billion, rose 78 cents to close Monday at $59.30 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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