Qiagen and Pfizer to Develop Diagnostic for Brain Tumor Vaccine

Pfizer and DxS (a wholly owned subsidiary of Qiagen) have entered into an agreement to develop a companion diagnostic test kit for PF-04948568 (CDX-110) - an immunotherapy vaccine in development for the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Financial terms of the diagnostic agreement have not been disclosed.

The former's investigational drug PF-04948568 (CDX-110) is a peptide vaccine which targets the tumor-specific Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor variant III (EGFRvIII), a mutated form of the epidermal growth factor receptor that is only present in cancer cells and occurs in 25-40 percent of GBM tumors. The assay is designed to identify those patients whose tumors express the EGFRvIII mutation, allowing for the possibility of more targeted and personalized treatment.

The EGFRvIII companion diagnostic will be developed and manufactured at Qiagen's Center of Excellence for Companion Diagnostics, in Manchester, UK. The diagnostic will be a real-time PCR assay used to detect EGFRvIII Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) in tumor tissue. The assay is designed to offer a simple workflow, which supports its clinical utility in routine mutation testing.