NEW YORK – Qiagen announced this week it has extended an agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America to extend their Qiagen Clinical Insights license with the German firm's Human Gene Mutation Database of human genetic mutations. The deal, Qiagen said, builds on the partners' seven-year relationship to develop, introduce, and support new diagnostic tests. LabCorp will use the database, which Qiagen said is the world's largest database of inherited disease mutations, to improve identification and interpretation of genetic variants within inherited diseases. Terms of the extended deal were not disclosed.
Oxford Gene Technology said this week that its new facility in Cambridge, UK has received Medical Device Single Audit Program certification for its quality management system. The certification, the firm said, "solidifies" its goal of entering the molecular diagnostics space following the clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration of eight of its Cytocell Aquarius Hematology fluorescence in situ hybridization probes. The certification from Lloyd's Register is for full MDSAP scope, which is based on ISO: 13485:2016 and additional country-specific requirements from regulators in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Japan.
Quest Diagnostics this week said its board has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.53 per share, payable on Jan. 29, 2020 to shareholders of record on Jan. 4, 2020.
Hologic has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Cynosure medical aesthetics business to an affiliate of investment funds managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for a total purchase price of $205 million in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. Hologic expects net cash proceeds of approximately $138 million from the deal. Steve MacMillan, chairman, president and CEO of Hologic, said the divestiture will enable the firm to focus on its products for early detection of disease.
The company also said it intends to enter into an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program to buy back $205 million of its common stock. The stock repurchase is in addition to an existing repurchase program, under which $211 million remained as of Sept. 28.
PerkinElmer business Tulip Diagnostics announced recently that it has acquired Biosense Technologies, a Mumbai, India-based developer of point-of-care, in vitro diagnostic solutions. Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed. Biosense has 120 employees, said Tulip, which is headquartered in Goa, India. Biosense was founded in 2008 and offers POC solutions for screening, diagnosing, and managing chronic diseases in India. The founders of the company, Abhishek Sen, who is also the CEO, and Yogesh Patil, as well as the rest of Biosense's management will remain with the company and run the day-to-day operations.
Anixa Biosciences announced this week that Idaho Urologic Institute and Urology Centers of Alabama will provide patient samples for Anixa's ongoing prostate cancer study, including support of clinical validation of the company's Cchek Prostate Cancer Confirmation test. Lisa Parillo will be the principal investigator for the study at IUI, while Charles Edward Bugg will serve as PI for the study at UCA. Cchek measures a patient's immunological response to a malignancy by analyzing immune system cells in peripheral blood. It is being developed for the early detection of cancer. Anixa said recently that it plans to launch Cchek by early 2020.
Medix Biochemica announced this week it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all the shares of Lee Biosolutions, a provider of high-quality biomaterials for the in vitro diagnostics industry. The deal, Finland-based Medix said, will expand its portfolio of antibodies and antigens with a complementary portfolio of biomaterials. Lee Biosolutions, which is headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri, manufactures proteins, enzymes, antigens, and biologicals for use as quality controls and calibrators in the IVD market. Financial and other terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on 360Dx.