A Massachusetts-based molecular diagnostics company will partner with Eli Lilly and Co. to develop programs to support novel therapeutics. PrimeraDx says it will use its ICEPlex system in collaboration with Lilly to develop innovative multiplex assays during the “multiyear” agreement. The assays combine PCR and capillary electrophoresis in a benchtop instrument designed to rapidly configure complex multimodal assays for targets such as SNPs, expression biomarkers, and fusion genes.

“The unique ability of the ICEPlex system to combine multiple DNA and RNA biomarkers into a single multiplex assay could prove invaluable in our drive to develop companion diagnostics for crucial assets in our clinical pipeline,” says Andrew Schade, senior director of Eli Lilly’s clinical diagnostics laboratory.