Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) has entered into a multi-year development agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen). The collaboration aims to develop a new handheld blood test to provide doctors with a novel tool to improve the care of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
The collaboration unites Philips' expertise in point-of-care testing and monitoring applications for the hospital and the home, with Janssen's strength in discovering and developing innovative solutions to treat brain disorders. Philips will be responsible for the development and manufacturing of the handheld test. The test will be based on Philips' Minicare system, which is currently under development. Janssen will be responsible for the clinical studies to validate the test, as well as the commercialization of the final product.
"Our technology can play an important role in the management of chronic diseases in the hospital and the home," said Frans van Houten, CEO Royal Philips. "Better care for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders is a key driver to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs. The collaboration with Janssen is a great example of our open innovation business model, combining their strength in neuroscience with the biosensor technology in our Minicare I-20 platform."
Mr. Van Houten added: "Going forward, I firmly believe that the Minicare system consisting of the analyzer and application-specific cartridges and software, can be tailored to a wide range of other pharmaceuticals."
The blood test will be based on Philips' Minicare I-20 system for immunoassays, which consists of a handheld analyzer, dedicated software and a single use, disposable cartridge containing the application specific test. Based on Philips' proprietary biosensor technology, the Minicare I-20 system is being developed to detect multiple target molecules at low concentrations within the same blood sample and to show the results on the analyzer display within minutes.
The Minicare activities are part of Philips' Handheld Diagnostics business that has its headquarters and manufacturing lines at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The business will be expanding its production capacity in light of the new partnership.
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About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2014 sales of EUR 21.4 billion and employs approximately 105,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare.