Philips and BG Medicine form molecular medicine alliance

Under the partnership agreement, BG Medicine has granted Philips preferential access to certain of its proprietary technologies and services, and Philips has acquired a minority stake in BG Medicine.

Key to the alliance, which aims to develop molecular healthcare products for application in areas such as molecular imaging and point-of-care diagnostics, are BG Medicine’s proprietary systems-profiling technologies. These technologies identify biomarker sets associated with disease stage, progression and treatment.

BG Medicine believes that the advancement of molecular medicine through systems biology promises to revolutionize the practice of healthcare by allowing earlier detection of disease and drug response, thereby increasing the effectiveness of treatment and minimizing the severity or duration of an illness. Molecular medicine is also key to the development of individualized therapeutic treatments and diagnostics for improved patient outcomes.

“We are at the dawn of a new era in medicine where technology and biology are applied in conjunction to create a whole new generation of approaches to diagnosis and treatment with improved clinical outcomes,” said Rick Harwig, CTO of Philips.

“The partnership announced today between Philips and BG Medicine provides a strategic foundation and framework for a series of joint initiatives in molecular medicine focused on important areas such as cardiovascular disease and oncology,” added Pieter Muntendam, president and CEO of BG Medicine.