As per the agreement, the companies are expected to work together to develop diagnostic tests to help physicians determine the most appropriate cancer treatment for patients. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AstraZeneca will bring its extensive experience in the development and commercialization of vital oncology products worldwide.
Lars Holmkvist, CEO of Dako, said: “We believe it is important for pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to combine their expertise in a strong collaborative approach to enable the development of diagnostic tests for use with drug therapies. Targeted treatment with personalised medicine is the future, and the outcome of this collaboration will be beneficial not only for cancer patients, but is also a contributive factor in cutting health care costs.”
Alan Barge, head of oncology development at AstraZeneca, said: “This agreement, under the umbrella of AstraZeneca’s Personalised Healthcare strategy, will enable us to develop novel, reimbursable products that can improve patients’ lives.
“The alliance heralds the intentions of both companies to work closely together to develop new drugs linked to diagnostic tests that predict which patients are most likely to respond to treatment, ensuring that we are giving the right treatment, to the right patient, the first time.”