Agilent Announces the Availability of Objective Decision Support for Pathologists Reviewing Breast Cancer Cases

An exciting development for digital pathology

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced the expansion of Visiopharm’s validated image analysis algorithm to incorporate HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx for Dako Omnis, both CE-IVD marked and recently released for sale in Europe. This development enables pathologists to use the Visiopharm HER2 APP for objective decision support in the assessment of HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx stained slides, saving valuable time for both pathologists and patients.

The HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx assay is intended for breast cancer patients where Herceptin® treatment is being considered. HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx (Dako Omnis) includes a rabbit monoclonal antibody that provides robust and reproducible staining of the cancer biomarker, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) in breast cancer tissue. If HER2 is over-expressed, the patient may be a candidate for Herceptin® treatment, which targets HER2 in the cancer cell.

Visiopharm’s HER2 APP uses automated image analysis to reproducibly assess and score HER2 staining in brightfield digital images of breast cancer tissue sections. The APP provides objective decision support to pathologists, who would traditionally only visually review slides under a microscope. This decision support reduces the number of inconclusive readings and therefore saves the pathologist time, and helps to provide a faster, more accurate diagnosis for the patient.

Dirk Vossen, Chief Diagnostics Officer of Visiopharm commented, “The HER2 APP delivers objective, reproducible diagnostic decision support that enables pathologists to quickly and accurately review staining results. We are delighted that the algorithm is now validated for HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx for Dako Omnis.”

Furthermore, the addition of HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx assay to the Dako Omnis menu means that pathology labs can further benefit from patient case management with Dako Omnis, which helps them improve case delivery times and provide consistent, precise results for patients.

“Together, the HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx for Dako Omnis and Visiopharm’s HER2 APP represents an exciting step forward in our shared commitment towards improving end-to-end standardization in tissue diagnostics, enabling our customers to quickly and efficiently generate accurate diagnoses,” remarked Simon Østergaard, Agilent vice president and general manager of the company’s pathology group.

For in vitro diagnostic use in Europe.

HercepTest™ mAb pharmDx (Dako Omnis) (Code GE001): The licensed antibody is created by Epitomics Inc. (an Abcam company), using Abcam’s proprietary rabbit monoclonal antibody technology covered under Patent No’s 5,675,063 and 7,402,409.

HercepTest™ and Herceptin® are trademarks owned by Genentech, Inc.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. Now in its 20th year as an independent company delivering insight and innovation toward improving the quality of life, Agilent instruments, software, services, solutions, and people provide trusted answers to customers' most challenging questions. The company generated revenue of $5.16 billion in fiscal 2019 and employs 16,300 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com. To receive the latest Agilent news, subscribe to the Agilent Newsroom. Follow Agilent on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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Media Contact: Catherine Kaye Agilent Technologies [phone] [e-mail]