Genomic services provider Novogene has signed an agreement to develop a companion diagnostic for a cancer drug under development at Chipscreen Biosciences, the Chinese companies said today.

Under the terms of the deal, Novogene will develop a companion diagnostic for chiauranib, a small molecule inhibitor of key serine-threonine kinases involved in tumor angiogenesis, cell mitosis, and microenvironment inflammation. Novogene will also provide molecular testing services to Chipscreen during clinical testing of the drug.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

"The collaboration between Chipscreen and Novogene will help select the right patients for the clinical development of chiauranib in several tumor types including ovarian cancer, small cell lung cancer, liver cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," Chipscreen Executive Vice President Zhiqiang Ning said in a statement.