Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Illumina, a San Diego, California-headquartered company developing and commercializing systems for analysis of genetic variation and function, have partnered to use Illumina’s sequencing technology to develop and globally commercialize in-vitro diagnostic assays in support of BMS’ oncology portfolio.

The companies plan to develop a diagnostic version of Illumina’s TruSight Oncology 500 assay to measure potentially predictive genomic biomarkers, including tumor mutation burden (TMB). Illumina’s TruSight Oncology 500 assay is being developed to detect most of the known biomarkers for oncology therapeutics, including TMB and Microsatellite Instability for immunotherapies.

BMS’ clinical development program includes 24 clinical-stage molecules designed to target different immune system pathways across more than 50 types of cancers. The company has identified a number of potentially predictive biomarkers, including programmed death-ligand 1, TMB, microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair deficient and lymphocyte-activation gene 3.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb