Strategic Partnership to Develop Protein-Based Assays for Early Disease Detection

Agilent Technologies, Inc and Integrated Diagnostics announced a strategic partnership to develop assays that detect major human diseases at very early stages to improve treatment outcomes.

Integrated Diagnostics is creating large-scale, blood-based molecular diagnostics that leverage advances in proteomics and genomics to detect diseases such as lung cancer and Alzheimer’s at their earliest stages. Agilent manufactures a wide range of analytical instrumentation, including liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and automation systems.

Officials of both organisations see an opportunity to rapidly turn medical breakthroughs into diagnostic assays by combining efforts to focus on protein and peptide biomarkers of disease.

“Agilent provides an innovative and forward-looking platform and expertise to enable the development and deployment of next-generation multiplexed proteomic assays,” said Paul Kearney, PhD, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Integrated Diagnostics. “Integrated Diagnostics will bring expertise in assay development, technology strategy, study design, clinical development, commercialisation and systems informatics to leverage the Agilent technology solution. Together, we intend to realise the potential of clinical proteomics today as well as establish the technological platform and strategy for the field. Our partnership with Agilent will allow us to realise the advantages of using a single technology platform from discovery and verification through to commercialisation.”

As part of the partnership, Integrated Diagnostics purchased two Agilent 1290 Infinity UHPLC systems, two 6490 iFunnel triple quadrupole mass spectrometry systems and two 1260 LCs with ultraviolet detectors for the project.

The partnership will develop high-throughput automated workflows to include sample preparation and LC MS/MS analysis. Participants expect accelerated biomarker discovery to be fueled by novel sample-prep technology, fast liquid chromatography and ultra-sensitive ion funnel triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

The technology opens the possibility of screening for several hundred biomarkers in a single assay, in a very high-throughput and quantitative fashion, according to Agilent.