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In Brief This Week: Becton Dickinson, Hologic, Abbott, Myriad, and More

NEW YORK (360Dx) – Becton Dickinson announced this week an early access program for its BD Resolve single-cell gene expression platform that captures and analyzes "hundreds to tens of thousands of individual cells in a broad range of sizes and types."

The platform includes reagents that can analyze the whole transcriptome and targeted or custom-designed gene-specific panels, BD said, and noted that it's possible to improve data accuracy and reduce sequencing costs by pairing the platform with the firm's Facsmelody flow cytometer for cell sorting and enrichment.

BD Resolve is currently available for research use only. The firm said it has plans to launch the platform by early fall 2017.


Hologic said this week that it had inked an agreement to purchase Cynosure, a medical aesthetics systems and technologies company, for $66.00 per share in cash, or an equity value of around $1.65 billion.

Hologic noted that acquiring Cynosure will accelerate its transformation into a higher-growth company by leveraging its women's health expertise and OB/GYN channel leadership into an adjacent, cash-pay segment that is expanding at a low double-digit rate.   

The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction.


Abbott said that its board of directors declared a quarterly common dividend of 26.5 cents per share, the 373rd consecutive quarterly dividend to be paid by the firm since 1924. The cash dividend is payable May 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 14.


S&P Dow Jones announced that Myriad Genetics replaced Inteliquent in the S&P SmallCap 600. Private equity firm GTCR acquired Inteliquent, allowing Myriad to be included in the biotechnology sub-industry index.


Premaitha Health said this week that it was collaborating with an unnamed "major international diagnostics services group" to implement its Iona test in "at least two laboratories."

Premaitha said that it has secured a four-year master procurement agreement that defines the terms and pricing under which the test can be offered across the diagnostics services group's European hospital and laboratory network.

Under the agreement, a central lab in France will soon install the Iona test, and a lab in another European country will install the test sometime this year, the firm said.

Through the labs, the diagnostics services group intends to provide noninvasive prenatal testing services to its international network, and it may also install the Iona test in additional laboratories in the future, Premaitha added.

In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on the 360Dx site.