This agreement extends the current agreement between the companies for a two-year period and names Response Genetics as preferred provider of genetic testing services to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and its affiliated companies. In anticipation of 2009 services, GSK agreed to make an upfront payment to Response Genetics of $1.3 million before the end of 2008.
Response Genetics’s patented diagnostic technology and services are also commercially available to physicians through the company’s ResponseDX: Lung and ResponseDX: Colon tests. By providing information on a panel of molecular markers, these PCR-based genetic tests can help physicians with therapeutic treatment decisions in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer, the company said.
Kathleen Danenberg, president and CEO of Response Genetics, said: “We are very pleased to continue supporting GSK’s clinical trial development program. Our collaborative relationship underscores the value our service and patented technology brings to pharmaceutical partners like GSK, in helping them develop new cancer-fighting therapies.”