MedPacto, a biomarker-based cancer drug developer, and medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific signed a contract Monday to develop and manufacture a diagnostic kit for predicting metastasis and recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Under the accord, the two companies will develop and commercialize MO-B2, a prediction kit for metastasis, and recurrence of cancer based on the mechanism of action of the BAG2 protein, MedPacto said in a press release.

MedPacto agreed with Thermo Fisher Scientific to develop and manufacture test kits for predicting metastasis and recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer. (MedPacto)

BAG2 is a protein that plays a role in inducing metastatic activity by binding to cathepsin B, which helps the proliferation, recurrence, and metastasis of tumor cells in the microenvironment around cancer tissue. MedPacto has become the world's first to identify the mechanism of how BAG2 protein is secreted out of cells in TNBC.

MedPacto detected high levels of BAG2 protein in patients with cancers other than the TNBC, including ovarian cancer.

Based on the mechanism of BAG2 actions, the company expects to predict metastasis and recurrence of various cancers through the development of diagnostic kits with Thermo Fisher Scientific.

"Our research and development of MA-B2, an antibody treatment that targets BAG2, along with the BAG2-based MO-B2 diagnostic kit, are also showing results,” Medpacto CEO Kim Seong-jin said. “We will develop based on a joint product concept that can diagnose and treat recurrence and metastasis early."

The company said it also owns a major pipeline, a TGF-β inhibitor Vactosertib, and is conducting 11 related clinical trials.

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