Foundation Medicine is back in the news this week, inking a deal to collaborate with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The partners will use Foundation's cancer genomic test to identify potential biomarkers to support J&JPRD oncology development programs.
"We are very pleased to work with J&JPRD and for our test to be used in the ongoing clinical development of new targeted cancer therapies," said Michael Pellini, Foundation's president and CEO, in a statement. "Cancer care is being improved by new therapies that target the molecular drivers of individual tumors. Our test may help identify patients that are more likely to respond to targeted therapies, which could accelerate clinical development and give physicians additional ways to effectively treat patients. This collaboration is further validation of Foundation Medicine's approach and the value our comprehensive cancer genomic test can bring to pharmaceutical clinical trials."
The collaboration is the fourth with a pharmaceutical partner Foundation has announced this year. It also has deals with Novartis ($NVS), Celgene ($CELG) and an undisclosed company. No financial details have been disclosed.
Last week, the company announced it had closed an expanded Series A financing, bringing the total raised in the round to $33.5 million. Investors included Third Rock Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Google Ventures. Foundation began operations last year with $25 million in financing led by Third Rock.
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