AstraZeneca announced that its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, has signed an agreement to buy Definiens which is a privately-held company which has pioneered a world-leading data analysis and imaging technology, known as Tissue Phenomics. This technology dramatically improves the identification of biomarkers in tumour tissue.

Definiens’ proprietary Cognition Network Technology was developed by Professor Gerd Binnig, who was the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Physics. He had unlocked the information from cancer tissue samples by measuring the identity, locations and the relationships between the many and varied components of the complex tumour microenvironment.

MedImmune will buy 100 percent shares of Definiens for an initial consideration of $150 million and make additional predetermined milestone payments, under the terms of the agreement. Definiens will continue to operate its business with third-party customers.

This acquisition will strengthen MedImmune’s focus on the discovery of novel predictive biomarkers in immuno-oncology. It is believed that using biomarkers to select patients for clinical trials could increase response rates and shorten clinical timelines. As a result, this technology will serve as a significant tool in the advancement of the most promising combination therapies across AstraZeneca’s combined biologics and small molecule pipeline, about 80 percent of which at present has a personalized healthcare approach.

Executive Vice President of MedImmune, Dr. Bahija Jallal said that MedImmune has a comprehensive programme in immuno-oncology and the identification of patients who are most likely to respond to particular therapies is critical to their ability to successfully develop new medicines. Definiens’ technology will complement their immuno-oncology approach and allow them to accelerate further their clinical programmes through its highly precise predictive and prognostic biomarker testing. They forward to working with Definiens’ scientists to give patients the best chance of receiving the targeted medicines suited for their particular needs.

AstraZeneca’s Executive Vice President of Innovative Medicines and Early Development, Mene Pangalos said that Definiens brings a distinctive technology that will have application across the organization as well as supporting their immuno-oncology efforts. Utilizing this groundbreaking technology will reinforce their approach to developing companion diagnostics that help them in selecting the patients who would benefit the most from therapies across their small molecule and biologics portfolios.

Definiens’ Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Heydler said that Definiens’ Tissue Phenomics approach marks a significant step toward closing the gap between genomics and patient outcomes. Their look forward to joining the MedImmune team as Tissue Phenomics is of particular importance for personalized medicine in immuno-oncology. Unique ability of Definiens’ to extract information from tissue images enables them to find novel markers for patient stratification by correlating tissue information with clinical outcomes.