HTG Molecular Diagnostics, a privately held, developer of mRNA and miRNA gene expression-based cancer diagnostics, has been granted a non-exclusive licence to develop, manufacture, and commercialize breast cancer diagnostic tests under Merck’s patent portfolio. The Netherlands Cancer Institute is a co-owner of patents and applications in this portfolio.

TJ Johnson, CEO of HTG Molecular Diagnostics states, “The ability to accurately, quickly, and locally assess a patient’s likelihood to have recurrent breast cancer will help improve patient care in the era of personalized medicine. Most breast cancer risk testing is currently run at a few specialty laboratories which often take weeks to return results to treating physicians and nervous patients. As part of our IVD pipeline development, HTG Molecular Diagnostics intends to pursue FDA approvals for tests that provide compelling medical value and to make those standardized tests available to local laboratories via proprietary automation and content. This patent portfolio license from Merck gives HTG access to key intellectual property to bring valuable breast cancer tests to market.”