Menarini-Silicon Biosystems to acquire CELLSEARCH® CTC system
Only FDA-Cleared CTC test to join company’s portfolio of diagnostics.
Menarini-Silicon Biosystems announced they have signed an agreement to purchase all the assets and relevant business related to the CELLSEARCH® Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) system from Janssen Diagnostics. CELLSEARCH® is used to help manage patients with metastatic breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. It is the only FDA-cleared CTC test, and has also been approved by China’s FDA for use in monitoring breast cancer patients. Financial details were not disclosed.
CELLSEARCH® system will join Menarini-Silicon Biosystems’ family of advanced diagnostics, which includes the Company’s flagship DEPArray™ System. DEPArray™ is a rare-cell detection and isolation technology that is used globally in a number of therapeutic areas, including oncology. With both DEPArray™ and CELLSEARCH® in its portfolio, Menarini-Silicon Biosystems will be able to provide CTC detection on an FDA-cleared platform, and give oncologists and researchers access to unparalleled molecular characterization capabilities. Together, the two technologies provide a unique opportunity to advance next-generation, personalized medicine strategies.
“We are excited to welcome CELLSEARCH® to the Menarini-Silicon Biosystems portfolio,” commented Lucia Aleotti, Chairman of Menarini Group and Giuseppe Giorgini, CEO, Menarini-Silicon Biosystems. “The combined capabilities of CELLSEARCH® together with our DEPArray™ System will enhance our potential to enable meaningful advances in the field of personalized medicine.”
Under terms of the agreement, when the closing will occur, Menarini-Silicon Biosystems will seek to retain many of the Janssen Diagnostics employees in roles dedicated to CTCs, and assume operation of Janssen Diagnostics’ CLIA-certified laboratory in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. The two companies will work closely to transition the business across the many global markets where CELLSEARCH® is available.