Thermo Fisher Scientific's clinical sequencing business and AstraZeneca are co-developing next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based companion diagnostics (CDx) to support AstraZeneca's expanding portfolio of targeted therapies. The companies will collaborate under a multiyear, global agreement.

NGS-based companion diagnostics are increasingly used to match patients with new therapies for cancer and other diseases. More than 90 percent of AstraZeneca's clinical pipeline, across all main areas from oncology, cardiovascular and renal to metabolic and respiratory disease, are targeted precision medicine therapies.

Thermo Fisher currently offers the only globally distributable NGS CDx solution approved and reimbursed by government and commercial insurers in more than 15 countries, including the U.S., multiple European nations, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East, and covering more than 550 million lives globally.

To expand global access to a growing list of precision medicine therapies, in 2019 Thermo Fisher introduced the Ion Torrent Genexus System, the first fully-integrated NGS platform featuring an automated specimen-to-report workflow that economically delivers results in a single day. The company's complete NGS workflow, powered by Ion AmpliSeq technology, includes multiple solutions for solid tumor biomarkers and liquid biopsy testing.