The test is intended to identify non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosinekinase (ALK) gene rearrangements who may benefit from Pfizer’s XalkorI (crizotinib).
The assay will also measure the associated protein product, when an ALK gene rearrangement is present.
The Ventana ALK IHC diagnostic test will be based on CST’s D5F3 antibody and Ventana Optiview DAB detection, for performance on Ventana automated platforms.
Ventana Medical Systems president Mara G Aspinall said the collaboration would largely benefit patients suffering from NSCLC through biomarker identification.
"Our early development data suggests that the combination of CST’s D5F3 antibody and Ventana OptiView detection generates a highly sensitive assay that detects cases with very low expression of the ALK protein in lung tissue which means that Xalkori may be an appropriate treatment for those patients," Aspinall added.