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Diagnostic Deals: A Roundup of the Key Mergers, Acquisitions, Alliances, Licenses and Other Strategic Transactions From the Past Month

by | Dec 17, 2018 | Deals-lir, Essential, Laboratory Industry Report

From - Laboratory Industry Report As the year winds down, diagnostic deals aren't as plentiful. Nevertheless, there have been some significant transactions. Here's a recap of… . . . read more

As the year winds down, diagnostic deals aren’t as plentiful. Nevertheless, there have been some significant transactions. Here’s a recap of the key activity from mid-October through the third week of November.

M&A and Asset Sales
The biggest deal in recent weeks also happens to be one of the year’s biggest. Illumina will acquire Pacific Biosciences for approximately $1.2 billion in cash. Under the agreement, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Illumina will pay $8.00 per PacBio share. This represents a 71% premium over PacBio’s 30 trading-day volume weighted average share price as of the market close on Oct. 31.

Illumina is willing to pay a premium to gain access to PacBio’s long-read sequencing technology and potential clinical applications, as it will extend Illumina’s reach into areas such as de novo assembly of plant and animal genomes, functional genomics, tissue transplantation, and pharmacogenomics. The long-read sequencing market, estimated at $600 million in 2017, is expected to increase to $2.5 billion by 2022.

In other news, Quest Diagnostics will acquire Marin General Hospital’s outreach lab services operations for an undisclosed amount. Quest has also closed on the previously reported acquisition of Oxford Immunotec Global. This makes it a busy fall for Quest; last month, the company was involved in five other deals.

Strategic Alliances
Speaking of busy, among the alliances announced this past month is one involving Illumina. The company will partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to further the understanding of precision medicine in the United States. The plan is to create a report on availability and clinical understanding of DNA sequencing technologies, genetic testing, and precision medicine that will prove—pardon the pun—Illumina-ting.

In other news, Google is on this month’s radar. IntegraGen has entered into a partnership with Google Cloud. The company aims to promote use of personalized medical care by facilitating genomics research projects and analysis of sequencing data by integrating its Sirius and Mercury genomic analysis tools into Google Cloud Platform.

These and other alliances, including a noteworthy partnership between 23andMe and MyoKardia, are detailed in the chart below.

Here’s a summary of key diagnostic deals from late October through the third week in November:

MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & ASSET SALES
Acquiring Company Target(s) Deal Summary
Illumina Pacific Biosciences
  • Price: $1.2 billion cash ($8 per share, representing 71% premium over market for 30 days ending Oct. 31)
  • Status: Agreement approved by boards of both companies to close in mid-2019
  • PacBio long-read sequencing technology complements Illumina short-read sequencing platforms and enables it to provide integrated workflows and innovations that leverage both technologies
Quest Diagnostics Oxford Immunotec Global
  • Price: $170 million cash
  • Status: Closed
  • Acquisition of Oxford Immunotec’s US lab business including T-Spot.TB tuberculosis and Accutix tick-borne disease testing services
  • Oxford Immunotec to sell T-SPOT.TB test kits and accessories to Quest but keep T-SPOT.CMV and C6 Lyme ELISA assay kit
  • Sides to enter strategic agreement to grow T-Spot.TB testing in US
Quest Diagnostics Marin General Hospital
  • Price: Undisclosed
  • Status: To close by end of 2018
  • Quest acquires non-profit hospital’s outreach lab services operations
BioMérieux Suzhou Hybiome Biomedical Engineering
  • Price: Undisclosed
  • Status: Closed
  • BioMérieux acquires 54% of Chinese immunoassay firm after acquiring minority stake in July
NeoGenomics Genoptix
  • Price: $125 million cash + 1 million shares NeoGenomics stock
  • Status: Definitive agreement with no closing date announced
  • Acquisition of clinical oncology lab boosts NeoGenomics’ heretofore limited ties to community oncology practices
Chembio Diagnostics OpTricon
  • Price: $5.5 million cash
  • Status: Expected to close in 2018
  • Since 2015, companies have collaborated to develop DPP Micro Reader, handheld, battery operated analyzer that uses an image sensor to quantitatively interpret diagnostic results when combined with Chembio’s DPP tests
Bruker Hain Lifescience
  • Price: Undisclosed
  • Status: Closed
  • Bruker acquires 80% stake in German molecular diagnostics firm with option to acquire remaining 20%
Progentec Diagnostics LupusCorner
  • Price: Undisclosed
  • Status: Closed
  • Progentec acquires health management platform for systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis patients
Medicover Invitro
  • Price: $6.9 million cash
  • Status: Expected to close in 2018
  • Poland-based Medicover to acquire Invitro’s Ukrainian lab operations with both businesses to be consolidated in 2019
STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Partner 1 Partner 2 Deal Summary
IntegraGen Google Cloud
  • Objective: Promote use of personalized medical care by facilitating genomics research projects and analysis of sequencing data
  • Dynamic: Integrate IntegraGen’s Sirius and Mercury genomic analysis tools into Google Cloud Platform
Illumina Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
  • Objective: Enhance understanding of the state of precision medicine in US
  • Dynamic: By early 2019, create report on availability and clinical understanding of DNA sequencing technologies, genetic testing and precision medicine
Sophia Genetics Paragon Genomics
  • Integrate Paragon Genomics’ CleanPlex NGS target enrichment technologies into Sophia AI platform
OpGen Qiagen
  • Objective: Offer Qiagen nucleic acid purification technology with OpGen’s Acuitas antimicrobial resistance detection panel
  • Dynamic: OpGen to purchase Qiagen’s EZ1 Advanced XL automated nucleic acid purification instruments and reagent kits and offer them for use with its research-use-only Acuitas AMR Gene Panel u5.47 for detecting multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in urine or bacterial isolates
Thermo Fisher Symphogen
  • Objective: Develop validated platform workflows to monitor quality of complex therapeutic proteins
  • Dynamic: Under 2-year agreement, Symphogen to use Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Plus Orbitrap liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry system with BioPharma Option to create platforms for analyzing therapeutic monoclonal antibody mixtures
NanoString MacroGenics
  • Objective: Develop biomarkers for MacroGenics’ MGD013 program
  • Dynamic: Joint research using NanoString PanCancer IO 360 panel to identify potential signatures for MGD013
Precipio PerkinElmer
  • Jointly offer Precipio’s ICE COLD-PCR (ICP) mutation enrichment technology with PerkinElmer’s NextPrep-Mag cell-free DNA isolation kit, Janus G3 liquid handling workstation and Chemagic MSM I, Chemagic 360, and Chemagic Prime platforms
Leica Biosystems Ultivue
  • Objective: Comarket each company’s biomarker detection products
  • Dynamic: Market Ultivue’s UltiMapper assays together with Leica’s Bond Rx research staining platform
Siemens Healthineers Healthy.io
  • Objective: Market smartphone system for home monitoring of chronic kidney disease
  • Dynamic: Global original equipment manufacturer alliance integrating Siemens Healthineers urinalysis reagents into Healthy.io’s smartphone-based urinalysis system
23andMe MyoKardia
  • Objective: Advance hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) research
  • Dynamic: Create patient community that 23andMe customers can use to access regularly updated HCM information
SeraCare Life Sciences  AccuRef Diagnostics
  • Objective: Market AccuRef’s CRISPR-engineered cell line reference materials
  • Dynamic: SeraCare to sell AccuRef materials in all markets but China
Invitae  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
  • Objective: Offer free genetic testing to improve diagnosis and management of primary hyperoxaluria
  • Dynamic: Tests must be ordered by MDs with Invitae to provide test results in 2 weeks without giving Alnylam access to identifiable patient information
Berry Genomics Prenetics
  • Objective: Offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing services in Chinese market
  • Dynamic: Create joint venture to sell integrated digital health and genetics testing services directly to consumers in mainland China
 BGI Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  • Objective: Work together on cancer genomics, immunology and infectious disease projects
  • Dynamic: Leverage BGI’s sequencing technology and Hutchinson’s cancer research and analysis expertise
BioLegend VIB
  • Objective: Deploy single-cell multi-omics technology
  • Dynamic: Test and deploy BioLegend’s TotalSeq antibodies as part of workflow combing single-cell proteomics with single-cell transcriptomics
Oxford BioDynamics Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza
  • Objective: Identify blood-based biomarkers of autism spectrum disorder
  • Dynamic: Develop autism biomarker assay based on Oxford BioDynamics’ EpiSwitch platform for discovery, evaluation, validation, and monitoring of chromosome conformation signatures
Almac Diagnostic Services TP Therapeutics
  • Objective: Develop NGS companion diagnostic for TP’s repotrectinib, an investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor
  • Dynamic: Almac to develop test based on tArcherDx Anchored Multiplex PCR chemistry and seek US regulatory approval
Quanterix OncoGenesis
  • Objective: Develop protein biomarker test for cervical disease
  • Dynamic: Use Quanterix’s SP-X Imaging and Analysis system to create test
  • OncoGenesis to handle commercialization of test
 RTI Asuragen
  • Objective: Perform high-throughput screening testing for fragile X syndrome in newborns
  • Dynamic: Screening to be conducted using Asuragen’s technology via North Carolina’s free Early Check study to identify children with rare health conditions before symptoms develop
Natera Neon Therapeutics
  • Use Natera’s Signatera circulating tumor DNA assay to assess treatment response to NEO-PV-01, a clinical trial-stage neoantigen cancer vaccine
OneOme Catherine Specialty Hospital
  • Offer OneOme’s PGx testing to patients of hospital (located in Croatia)
DISTRIBUTION, SALES & MARKETING AGREEMENTS
Property Owner Distributor Deal Summary
 Syntec Bioké
  • Products: Syntec’s Medimachine semi-automated homogenizer products
  • Territory: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
  • Exclusive
Guardant Health AMEA Core Diagnostics
  • Products: Guardant’s Guardant360 comprehensive liquid biopsy test
  • Territory: India
  • Expansion of exclusive distribution deal from five to eight years following first Chinese regulatory approval
SpeeDx Axonlab
  • Products: ResistancePlus GC, ResistancePlus MG and other SpeeDx tests
  • Territory: Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland
SpeeDx Vircell
  • Products: ResistancePlus GC, ResistancePlus MG and other SpeeDx tests
  • Territory: Spain
SpeeDx Diamedica
  • Products: ResistancePlus GC, ResistancePlus MG and other SpeeDx tests
  • Territory: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
SpeeDx Biomedica
  • Products: ResistancePlus GC, ResistancePlus MG and other SpeeDx tests
  • Territory: Central Eastern Europe
Dovetail Genomics Premas Life Sciences
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: India
Dovetail Genomics Millennium Science
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: Australia and New Zealand
Dovetail Genomics Ultravision Technology + Shanghai Biozeron Biotechnology
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: China
Dovetail Genomics Genomics Bioscience
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: Taiwan
Dovetail Genomics Bio-Active
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: Thailand
Dovetail Genomics Biomedic Science Material
  • Products: Dovetail’s genomics products and services
  • Territory: Vietnam
Karius Dasa
  • Products: Karius’s NGS-based infectious disease test
  • Territory: Brazil
OncoDNA Gammaray Private Health Services
  • Products: OncoDNA’s molecular profiling tests
  • Territory: Turkey
OncoDNA AMS 2000 Trading Impex
  • Products: OncoDNA’s molecular profiling tests
  • Territory: Romania
LICENSES
Licensor Licensee Deal Summary
Expedeon Quanterix
  • Property: CaptSure immunoassay products + Lightning-Link antibody labeling tech
  • Non-exclusive
ERS Genomics DefiniGen
  • Property: CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tech
  • DefiniGen to combine with its stem cell differentiation platform to generate preclinical cell models for type 2 diabetes, rare liver diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease drug discovery
Broad Institute DefiniGen
  • Property: CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tech
  • For use in developing human cell disease models
Co-Diagnostics LGC Biosearch Technologies
  • Property: CoPrimer PCR technology
  • Exclusive for research and commercial applications in agriculture
XCR Diagnostics Luminex
  • Property: XCR’s Xtreme Chain Reaction nucleic acid amplification technology
  • Non-exclusive
National University of Singapore Proteona
  • Property: Sequencing-based protein analysis technology
  • Global exclusive
SUPPLY, SERVICE & TESTING AGREEMENTS
Supplier/Servicer Client/User Deal Summary
LabCorp Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
  • Renewal of lab services agreement but LabCorp no longer exclusive provider
Quest Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
  • Addition of Quest as lab services provider, a status previously reserved exclusively to LabCorp
Clinical Genomics Quest
  • 5-year extension of US supply agreement for InSure One fecal immunochemical test (FIT)
Stratec Consumables Vortex BioSciences
  • Stratec to provide materials for use in creating microfluidic chip used in Vortex’s VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System

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