DXS has signed a non-exclusive global licensing agreement with the Wellcome Trust to expand its range of companion diagnostics.
DXS will provide a research test for use in clinical trials to detect the presence of the V600E B-RAF mutation, which is found in melanomas, lung and thyroid cancers.
Using its real-time PCR technology Scorpions, DXS has developed a highly sensitive and selective test able to detect mutations at low levels, and can be performed in less than three hours.
The V600E B-RAF mutation was identified by scientists at the Wellcome Trust and can be found in around 36-40 per cent of skin and thyroid cancers and up to 13 per cent of cancers in the large intestine.
Researchers will use the test to determine a patient's cancer mutation status, which may predict how they respond to cancer therapies.
If clinical trials are successful, this could lead to a companion diagnostics to predict response for novel cancer therapies for skin, thyroid and large intestine cancers.
Glenn Wells, business development manager at the Wellcome Trust, said: 'We believe the identification of the B-RAF mutation could have considerable implications for the way in which treatment of melanomas, lung and thyroid cancers are handled.'
