Will they or won’t they? The suspense continues over whether Illumina’s proposed rescue of Pacific Biosciences will actually close. The $1.2 billion cash merger, which was originally expected to close in mid-2019, is now on indefinite hold due to regulatory antitrust concerns. After promising to make a ruling by Dec. 11, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now expanded and extended its review until Feb. 5, 2020.
The move follows an attempt by Illumina to rescue the deal by proposing to offer perpetual, royalty-free licenses to PacBio patents to competitors in the sequencing market. But one of those competitors, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, was less than impressed with what it described as an “illusory offer which does little to offset the anticompetitive effects of the proposed merger either in the UK, or on a worldwide basis.” Whether CMA agrees remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Illumina will keep pumping cash into struggling PacBio in the hopes of consummating the acquisition.
The other big development was the closing of Exact Sciences’ acquisition of fellow cancer genetics testing firm Genomic Health. The merged companies will be restructured as a four-unit business with separate teams managing Exact’s Cologuard business, Genomic Health’s Oncotype DX business, international business initiatives and combined pipeline opportunities.
Here’s a summary of key diagnostic deals announced from late October through the third week of November:
MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & ASSET SALES | ||
Acquiring Company | Target(s) | Deal Summary |
Illumina | Pacific Biosciences |
|
Exact Sciences | Genomic Health |
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Invitae | Clear Genetics |
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Abcam | Expedeon |
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Discovery Life Sciences | QualTek Molecular Laboratories |
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Edan Diagnostics | LGC |
|
LabCorp | South Bend Medical Foundation (SBMF) |
|
STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS | ||
Partner 1 | Partner(s) 2+ | Deal Summary |
Agilent Technologies | MGI Tech |
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Agilent Technologies | Akadeum Life Sciences |
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Centogene | Pfizer |
|
Promega | Merck |
|
SomaLogic | Novartis |
|
Proscia | Dell Technologies |
|
Oncimmune | Biodesix |
|
Illumina | Lexent Bio |
|
Thermo Fisher Scientific | Owlstone Medical |
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Thermo Fisher Scientific | Genialis |
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Thermo Fisher Scientific | Milu Labs |
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Lucence Diagnostics | MEDx (Suzhou) Translational Medicine |
|
Abcam | BrickBio |
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SpeeDx | QuantuMDx + Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) |
|
Targos Molecular Pathology | Ultivue |
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Hitachi | Centre Léon Bérard (CLB) |
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OptraHealth | InformedDNA |
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Mission Bio | BioLegend |
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Qiagen | Repertoire Genesis |
|
Akoya Biosciences | Precision for Medicine (formerly ApoCell) |
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Sysmex | Optim |
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Sienna Cancer Diagnostics | Minomic International |
|
Twist Bioscience | MGI International Sales (BGI subsidiary) |
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Mologic | Sherlock Biosciences |
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PredictImmune | KSL Biomedical |
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Microba | Psomagen (subsidiary of Psomagen) |
|
DISTRIBUTION, SALES & MARKETING AGREEMENTS | ||
Property Owner | Distributor | Deal Summary |
Biocartis | Nichirei Biosciences |
|
Eurobio Scientific | CirrusDx |
|
Pillar Biosciences | MGI Tech (subsidiary of BGI) |
|
BillionToOne | Eluthia |
|
Nippon Genetics | GeneX India |
|
Veritas Intercontinental | Genomika |
|
Mobidiag | Alab |
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Mobidiag | Biogenetix |
|
Mobidiag | Theranostica |
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PredictImmune | Theradiag |
|
MDNA Life Sciences | Mediwell Enterprise |
|
DNAStar | Inqaba Biotechnical Industries |
|
LICENSES | ||
Licensor | Licensee | Deal Summary |
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center | Sonic Healthcare USA |
|
University of Bonn | Qiagen |
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Stratifyer Molecular Pathology | Qiagen | Qiagen gets exclusive access to biomarker intellectual property providing guidance for treatment of bladder and, potentially, other urothelial cancers |
SUPPLY, SERVICE & TESTING AGREEMENTS | ||
Supplier/Servicer | Client/User | Deal Summary |
Quanterix | Siemens Healthineers |
|
NEW CLINICAL STUDIES | ||
DX Partner | Other Partner(s) | Description of Study |
PredictImmune | Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation |
|
Inivata | European Organization for Research + Treatment of Cancer |
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ACT Genomics | University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center |
|
Guardant Health | NA |
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