Original from: 360dx

Danaher subsidiary Beckman Coulter Life Sciences and Pillar Biosciences announced an agreement on Tuesday to develop next-generation sequencing-based tests for cancer. 

Pillar Biosciences will develop a series of tests for use on Beckman Coulter's Biomek NGeniuS Next Generation Library Preparation System, initially focusing on five commercially available solid tumor liquid biopsy and hematology panels from Pillar, Beckman Coulter said in a statement. The OncoReveal Myeloid, OncoReveal Solid Tumor v2, OncoReveal Multi-Cancer plus CNV, OncoReveal Solid Tumor 22 Gene, and OncoReveal Core LBx tests will be designed for the Biomek system and be available to customers via an electronic application library.

Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Combining the simplicity of our NGS library preparation technology with the automation capabilities of the Biomek NGeniuS System will significantly reduce error, assay costs, and hands-on time, helping ensure more oncology researchers get the results they need faster, with lower costs and greater efficiency," Pillar Biosciences CEO Randy Pritchard said in a statement. 

The Biomek system uses software that allows any batch size between four and 24 samples to be set up and monitored remotely, Beckman Coulter noted. The automated library preparation platform includes a reagent input carousel, an integrated thermal cycler, and a labware transport system. 

Last year, the companies announced an application development agreement for next-generation sequencing solutions. 

Source: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Pillar Biosciences to Develop NGS Cancer Tests