Sequenom today announced a collaboration with the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine to investigate the use of the company's liquid biopsy assay in melanoma patients. 

As part of the collaboration, the partners will evaluate Sequenom's technology to determine whether circulating tumor DNA profiling has use for monitoring treatment response and relapse in melanoma patients. 

Sequenom CMO Daniel Grosu noted that the collaborative study is the firm's first focused on melanoma, and it expands the range of cancers and clinical care settings that Sequenom is exploring for its technology. 

Sequenom is currently developing its research-use-only assay with an initial focus on detecting and molecularly profiling late-stage non-hematologic malignancies. The assay will cover a number of cancers and analyze more than 100 cancer-related genes that are associated with a US Food and Drug Administration-approved drug treatment, included in professional society guidelines, linked to targeted therapies currently in clinical trials, or part of well-documented cancer pathways, the company said. 

The deal is the company's third this month for its liquid biopsy technology. Last week, Sequenom and University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf signed an agreement to evaluate the technology for colorectal cancer. Earlier in the month, the firm announced a collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital to profile circulating cell-free tumor DNA in blood.