OREANDA-NEWS. April 07, 2016. Dako, an Agilent Technologies company and a worldwide provider of cancer diagnostics, today announced the commercial availability in the EU of a new test that can identify PD-L1 expression levels on the surface of non-small cell lung cancer tumor cells and provide information on the survival benefit with OPDIVO® (nivolumab) for patients with non-squamous NSCLC.

The diagnostic, known as PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx, was developed through a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb, the maker of OPDIVO®, an immuno-oncology therapy for patients with previously treated NSCLC.

PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx was used to assess PD-L1 expression in the Phase 3 CheckMate 057 trial, in which OPDIVO® demonstrated superior overall survival in patients with previously treated metastatic non-squamous NSCLC when compared to chemotherapy.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Historically, the one-year overall survival in the second-line treatment of NSCLC has been about 26 percent.

"Immuno-oncology is an important area within cancer treatment, and we are excited about Agilent's involvement in the potential PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx has in helping to provide information to oncologists considering OPDIVO for patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer," said Jacob Thaysen, president of Agilent's Diagnostics and Genomics Group.

PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx is the first and only diagnostic assay approved to assess the survival benefit associated with OPDIVO®. PD-L1 testing is not required for the use of OPDIVO®, but it may provide additional information for physicians and inform patient dialogue.

Dako is a worldwide leader in partnering with pharmaceutical companies to develop immunohistochemical-based diagnostics for cancer therapy.

About Agilent Technologies and Dako

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets, is the premier laboratory partner for a better world. Agilent works with customers in more than 100 countries, providing instruments, software, services and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. The company generated revenues of \\$4.04 billion in fiscal 2015 and employs about 12,000 people worldwide.

In 2012, Agilent acquired Dako, a well-known provider of reagents, instruments, software and expertise. Agilent's Dako pathology solutions help pathologists make accurate diagnoses and determine the most effective treatment for cancer patients.

Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com, and information about Agilent's Dako pathology solutions products is available here.