Roche has collaborated with Clovis Oncology to co-develop an in vitro PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) based companion diagnostic test to identify activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including the EGFR T790M mutation.
Roche’s cobas EGFR mutation assay, which runs on its cobas 4800 System, is designed to deliver standards in laboratory testing efficiency and medically relevant diagnostic information.
Clovis Oncology’s CO-1686 is currently in pre-clinical development for advanced NSCLC patients.
CO-1686 has been designed to target and covalently bind to the activating and T790M mutant forms of EGFR.
Clovis Oncology president and CEO Patrick Mahaffy said by incorporating a companion diagnostic during clinical development of CO-1686, they reinforce their commitment to focus development programs on specific subsets of cancer populations that are most likely to benefit from their targeted therapies.