Bristol-Myers Squibb and Nordic Bioscience have announced a collaboration agreement to develop biomarker technology to potentially aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of fibrotic diseases including Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
“Addressing the significant need for better diagnostic and monitoring tools in fibrotic diseases is a key element of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s fibrosis strategy to help patients suffering from these debilitating conditions,” said Mike Burgess, head of Cardiovascular, Fibrosis and Immunoscience Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We continue to invest in innovative approaches to develop more precise methods to diagnose disease and monitor progression and we are pleased to partner with Nordic Bioscience and leverage their vast experience in biomarker development.”
“There is a big unmet need in medical and drug development for simple non-invasive diagnostic, early proof of efficacy of intervention and prognostic biomarkers in the NASH field,” said Morten Karsdal, CEO of Nordic Bioscience. “Nordic Bioscience is very proud to enter into this collaboration which will benefit the fibrosis field by advancing the research in fibrosis biomarkers for the benefit of patients.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Nordic Bioscience will collaborate in the development of translational biomarkers and diagnostics for the evaluation of NASH in pre-clinical models of fibrotic diseases and in clinical settings.