Biocartis and Merck to Collaborate on Improving Patient Access to Personalized Medicine in Middle East and North Africa (MEA) Region

Biocartis (Mechelen, Belgium) announced an expansion of its collaboration with Merck Serono Middle East and Merck Saudi Ltd., both affiliates of Merck KGaA (“Merck”). The collaboration aims to improve patient access to RAS biomarker testing in the Middle East and North Africa (MEA) region.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, with an estimated incidence of more than 1.9 million new cases annually. An estimated 904 thousand deaths from CRC occur worldwide every year, making it the second most common cause of death from cancer.¹ Understanding an individual patient’s biomarker status is key to support timely treatment decision-making in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).² Treatment with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody therapies have shown to improve outcomes in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC^3,4 and have become standard of care for RAS wild-type mCRC.⁵

RAS biomarker testing is cumbersome and not readily available in all parts of the world. The Idylla™ KRAS Mutation Test and Idylla™ NRAS-BRAF Mutation Test are highly performant⁶ Tests that rapidly determine the RAS biomarker status in mCRC tumor tissue samples. Due to the ease-of-use of the Biocartis Idylla™ Platform, the Tests can be deployed in any user setting and in turn aid patient access to biomarker testing globally.

Roger Moody, Chief Executive Officer of Biocartis, commented: “We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our collaboration with Merck in the Middle East and North Africa (MEA) region, aimed at advancing healthcare solutions and ensuring timely and accurate diagnostics for mCRC patients. In our mission to enable universal access to personalized medicine for patients around the world, Biocartis is proud to provide Idylla™'s cutting-edge technology for mCRC testing across countries in the MEA region. This collaboration underscores our shared dedication to overcoming the challenges in the healthcare environment of the MEA region and ensuring that patients receive the right medicine at the right time.”

Ramsey Morad, SVP & Head MEAR - Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Russia/CIS at Merck, added: "In line with our commitment at Merck to enhance patient care in the MEA region, we are happy to collaborate with Biocartis in addressing the critical need for improved access to RAS biomarker testing, particularly in areas where such testing is not readily available. By leveraging Biocartis' RAS-testing platform, we are confident this will allow treating oncologists to swiftly determine biomarker status and facilitate timely treatment decisions for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer."