NEW YORK (360Dx) – Veterinary drug company Zomedica Pharmaceuticals said today that it has entered into a research collaboration with liquid biopsy firm Celsee Diagnostics. Under the agreement, the companies plan to test the feasibility of Celsee’s circulating tumor cell detection and analysis technology for diagnosing cancer in dogs.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Celsee has developed an automated system for enrichment of CTCs and subsequent single-cell analysis using genomic or other laboratory testing methods.
Zomedica said that it has filed a provisional application for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office based on its identification of novel biomarkers for diagnosing canine cancers.
"Canine cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases in the veterinary clinic," Zomedica Chief Medical Officer William MacArthur said in a statement. "It is difficult, expensive, and oftentimes impractical for veterinarians to diagnose some cancers in a non-invasive manner. As such, veterinarians are frequently required to make treatment recommendations to pet owners based on incomplete patient information."