Centogene Expands Rare Blood Disease Partnership with Agios

Centogene, a commercial-stage data-generating company, has expanded its partnership with Agios Pharmaceuticals, under which Centogene will provide genetic testing and clinical trial support for Agios’ three global, pivotal trials in thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Under a previous agreement, Centogene provided support for Agios’ pyruvate kinase deficiency clinical program.

The companies signed a commercial three-year fee-for-service agreement under which Agios will coordinate and bear the costs for the programs. Further financial terms were not disclosed. The collaboration will offer patients access to genetic testing to help identify causative mutations, including HBA1, HBA2, and HBB genes, Centogene stated in a Nov. 4, 2021, press release.

Agios’ global clinical trials will enroll patients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. Samples will be collected using Centogene’s proprietary CentoCard for dried blood spot analysis.

Centogene’s rare disease-centric Bio/Databank is positioned to accelerate precise diagnosis and allows for the continued buildup of insights that can help with analyzing the genetic factors causing rare diseases.

“Our data-driven insights enable both acceleration and de-risking of clinical trials,” said Andrin Oswald, CEO of Centogene, in the press release. “Combining both [Centogene]’s expertise in genetics and unique global insights will lead to a better understanding of the disease biology of those rare diseases. This partnership will support the advancement of Agios’ first-in-class PK activator as a potential therapy for thalassemia and sickle cell disease, two under-served patient communities in need of new treatment options.”

“As we look ahead to initiating three global, pivotal trials in thalassemia and sickle cell disease by the end of the year, we are pleased to expand our partnership with [Centogene] to better understand the underlying genetics of patients in our studies and the potential impact of our investigational medicine,” said Sarah Gheuens, chief medical officer at Agios, in the press release.

Source: Centogene