(Yicai Global) June 24 -- China's Amoy Diagnostics will partner with Loxo Oncology, a developer of targeted cancer drugs owned by Eli Lilly and Company, to supply it with accompanying reagents for genetic diagnosis during clinical trials of new drugs in Asia.

The Xiamen-based company has recently penned a cooperation deal with US supplier of medicines for genetically defined cancers Loxo Oncology, and Premia Holdings (Hong Kong), which operates a new drug clinical development platform in Asia, Amoy Diagnostics said in a statement yesterday.

Genetically defined cancers are those occurring when the genetic code changes, spawning dysfunctional and abnormally activated proteins that disrupt normal biological processes and cause cells to multiply and become cancerous.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Loxo Onocology will adopt two different types of multi-gene mutations detection kits developed by Amoy Diagnostics as accompanying diagnostic reagents when clinical trials of inhibitors for multi-cancers developed by Loxo Oncology are conducted in Asia including China's mainland, Taiwan and Japan, under the deal.

Loxo Onocology has developed multiple targeted cancer treatments that can treat an array of tumors regardless of where they are located.

China's National Medical Products Administration successively approved the two diagnostic reagents developed by Amoy Diagnostics in August and November. One of the reagents mostly applies in lung cancer therapies, while the other, which is mainly used in lung and colorectal cancer, can detect all the genetic variations that need to be identified in clinical trials of targeted drugs for cancer treatment, the company's website explained.

The three parties will also jointly build a clinical genetic diagnostic platform serving Asian patients based on the high standards of Japan's nationwide lung cancer genomic screening project, the statement added.

Indianapolis, Indiana-based drug maker Eli Lilly acquired Loxo Oncology in January for USD8 billion.

Editor: Ben Armour