NEW YORK (360Dx) – Anatomic pathology laboratory Bostwick Laboratories this week filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In documents filed in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company, which lists Uniondale, New York as its principal business address, said that it had assets of between $1 million and $10 million, and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million.
David G. Bostwick, the company's founder and CEO, and the Bostwick Group own 18 percent of the Bostwick Laboratories Group Holdings, while certain investment funds of Metalmark Capital own the remaining 82 percent.
The US Department of Justice has the largest unsecured claim against the lab, $2.7 million, according to court documents. In 2014, Bostwick reached a deal to pay the US government about $6.1 million to settle allegations that it violated anti-kickback legislation by paying doctors to refer patients to the lab.
Other creditors with unsecured claims include Abbott Molecular ($315,000); Leica Biosystems Imaging (133,000); and Roche Diagnostics ($93,000).
On deadline, Bostwick's lawyer did not return a message seeking comment.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch — Bostwick has a facility in Glen Allen, Virginia — reported that the firm sent a letter to employees this week saying it has accepted a $5.4 million bid from Poplar Healthcare for the company and most of its assets. The letter said the sale to the Memphis, Tennessee-based lab services firm should be completed in a little more than a month.
On its website, Bostwick calls itself a full-service lab specializing in uropathology. Its staff includes pathologists with expertise in prostate cancer, kidney disease, bladder cancer, and other urologic conditions.
The firm was founded in 1999 and filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2008 to go public, but never went through with its initial public offering.