FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer struck a collaboration deal with Roche’s Foundation Medicine Inc. to develop test kits for genetic sequencing of tumor cells to identify cancer patients that benefit from Bayer’s Vitrakvi drug. Vitrakvi, which Bayer acquired from Eli Lilly’s Loxo Oncology, has been shown to shrink tumors in about 1 percent of patients across a range 24 different cancer types. Identifying those patients requires advanced genetic diagnostic tools. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Thomas Seythal
Bayer has agreed a deal with Foundation Medicine to develop test kits which can be used to identify patients for its Vitrakvi cancer therapy. The kits will use the genetic sequencing of tumour cells to find individuals who will benefit from the drug, which research shows is capable of shrinking tumours from 24 different types of cancer in around 1% of patients.