Quest Diagnostics has divested itself of its salivary-based dental diagnostics business. Quest announced the sale late last year of its OralDNA business to Minnesota-based Access Genetics. The company primarily focused on cardiovascular and other risk assessment tests associated with periodontal disease, as well as a test for oral human papilloma virus (HPV).Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Access Genetics has provided support and analysis for OralDNA’s testing suite provided to dental professionals since 2008. OralDNA testing that has been conducted at Quest’s lab in Brentwood, Tenn., will be moved to an OralDNA facility in Eden Prairie, a suburb of Minneapolis. Access focuses on providing advanced molecular tests. Its Web-based plaform, TeleGene, provides testing results in real time to more than 80 laboratories in 30 states. Quest noted that the transaction was part of its plan to streamline operations and improve its operational profitability. It announced a restructuring last fall that split the company into two divisions focusing on diagnostic solutions and diagnostic information services, while eliminating several layers of management and hundreds of jobs. Quest originally acquired OralDNA in 2009, a low-key transaction for which it did not issue a press statement. The stock analyst firm Zacks praised the […]
Quest Diagnostics has divested itself of its salivary-based dental diagnostics business. Quest announced the sale late last year of its OralDNA business to Minnesota-based Access Genetics. The company primarily focused on cardiovascular and other risk assessment tests associated with periodontal disease, as well as a test for oral human papilloma virus (HPV).Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Access Genetics has provided support and analysis for OralDNA’s testing suite provided to dental professionals since 2008. OralDNA testing that has been conducted at Quest’s lab in Brentwood, Tenn., will be moved to an OralDNA facility in Eden Prairie, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Access focuses on providing advanced molecular tests. Its Web-based plaform, TeleGene, provides testing results in real time to more than 80 laboratories in 30 states.
Quest noted that the transaction was part of its plan to streamline operations and improve its operational profitability. It announced a restructuring last fall that split the company into two divisions focusing on diagnostic solutions and diagnostic information services, while eliminating several layers of management and hundreds of jobs.
Quest originally acquired OralDNA in 2009, a low-key transaction for which it did not issue a press statement.
The stock analyst firm Zacks praised the divestment in a recent report. “We hold a favorable view about this divestment along with the organizational structure developed by the company’s new CEO, Steve Rusckowski. We also expect this to run successfully adding synergies to the company’s ongoing $500 million restructuring initiative associated with its Invigorate program,” said Zacks.
