Pacts In Medtech, March/April 2018

The IVD sector was particularly busy in the months of March and April with both small and large players forging licensing partnerships to expand commercialization of their existing products. An interesting example of a pharma/IVD alliance is between Fujirebio Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., in which the latter gained rights to develop and commercialize an amyloid beta 42/40 ratio assay that will run on Fujirebio’s Lumipulse chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay system. The test will be a companion diagnostic to enable Janssen to identify patients who may benefit from treatment with its oral BACE inhibitor atabecestat for Alzheimer’s disease, currently in Phase III trials. 

Another deal related to diagnostics in neurology is the alliance between New York-based firm Quadrant Biosciences Inc., which licenced exclusive...