Foundation Medicine, Inc. (FMI) and WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. have entered a collaboration to offer Foundation Medicine’s genomic profiling to biopharma companies conducting clinical trials in China.
 
FMI will license WuXi to perform the lab component of its FoundationOne assay at WuXi’s Genome Center in Shanghai. FMI will offer China-based products and services to support clinical R&D efforts in China. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
“China is poised to become the second-largest pharmaceutical market within the next few years,” said Dr. Ge Li, chairman and chief executive officer of WuXi. “WuXi has seen rapidly increasing demand for molecular profiling services from biopharmaceutical companies as they scale up R&D operations and early development activities in the region. We are pleased to partner with Foundation Medicine, the recognized global leader in comprehensive genomic profiling and a trusted partner of our customers, to provide best-in-class genomic testing to support targeted oncology therapeutic development in China.”
 
“WuXi is the recognized leader in providing high-quality R&D services in China to the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Foundation Medicine. “The development and use of targeted therapies and comprehensive diagnostic tests in oncology are expected to grow significantly in China. WuXi’s leadership position in China makes WuXi an ideal partner as Foundation Medicine expands its global reach to support targeted drug development and clinical entry into this rapidly growing market.”
 
FMI is working with more than 20 biopharma companies to provide genomic profiling, including AstraZeneca, Eisai, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Sanofi.