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Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) have agreed to jointly develop a companion diagnostic device that, after evaluation, would be used to measure the concentrations of two candidate biomarkers (Aβ42 and t-tau) in cerebrospinal fluid samples from Alzheimer’s Disease patients with mild cognitive impairment (NYSE:MCI). The candidate device will be evaluated as a means to identify patients with MCI who have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease to support patient selection for Merck’s therapeutic BACE inhibitor clinical program. This program relies on MK-8931, a novel oral beta amyloid precursor protein site cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitor and Merck’s lead investigational candidate for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). “This collaboration has the potential to deliver a novel companion diagnostic to identify patients at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” said Patrick J. Balthrop, president and CEO of Luminex.