NEW YORK — Alercell said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to distribute Zeesan Biotech's Leukemia Fusion Gene Screening and Genotyping Kit.
According to Alercell, the kit is designed to screen for up to 55 types of leukemia fusion genes in order to help guide treatment decisions. The Bozeman, Montana-based company said that the kit will initially be available in the US for research use only ahead of US Food and Drug Administration authorization.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"The traditional approach [for leukemia fusion gene screening] is done through blood tests and bone marrow biopsy, while the Zeesan Leukemia Fusion Gene Screening and Genotyping Kit is a kit that is analyzed through a standard PCR machine," Alercell Chief Medical Officer Alexandre Scheer said in a statement. Results from the test are available within a few hours.
Zeesan Biotech also offers non-cancer diagnostic tests. In mid-2020, the Xiamen, China-based company received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for a molecular SARS-CoV-2 test.