J&J subsidiary will develop neurological disease and infectious viral disease assays.

Biocartis inked a deal with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) firm Janssen Pharmaceutica for the development of neurological disease and certain infectious viral disease assays on the Biocartis molecular diagnostics system. Under terms of the deal Janssen has worldwide exclusive rights to develop relevant assays for the Biocartis system, with involvement from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, another J&J firm. Biocartis will receive an up-front fee, milestone payments, and royalties on future sales. During early January 2010 J&J took an equity stake in the firm.

The deal with Janssen follows just a couple of months after Biocartis inked its first strategic molecular diagnostics collaboration, with bioMérieux. Under terms of this deal bioMérieux has worldwide rights to develop and commercialize microbiology assays on the Biocartis platform, and has access to the system for certain oncology and theranostic assays.

Biocartis acquired its platform from Philips in February 2010. The system has been designed for fully integrated, multiplexed DNA/RNA molecular diagnostic testing, including sample preparation. Biocartis aims to develop and commercialize the platform, together with a menu of tests, through strategic partnerships. Final validation of the system will be carried out at its wholly owned Dutch subsidiary Biocartis BV.

The deals with Janssen and bioMérieux represent “the practical start and implementation of our collaborative business strategy in which we bring together expertise and capabilities and aim for maximum synergies between our current and future partners,” notes Rudi Pauwels, Ph.D., Biocartis founder and CEO. “The new tests that will be developed under this collaboration address the needs to improve the quality and efficiency by which a number of major diseases are treated and managed in individual patients and in various clinical settings.”

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