NEW YORK – BioMérieux said this week that it has finalized the acquisition of Specific Diagnostics. The firm said the acquisition price was equivalent to 3.2 percent of Specific Diagnostics’ market capitalization as of May 18, paid with a combination of cash and shares issued to certain Specific Diagnostics shareholders. The issuance of 1,288,901 new BioMérieux shares will result in a share dilution of approximately 1 percent of the share capital.
LumiraDx this week announced that its SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test has received an Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organization. The microfluidic immunofluorescence antigen assay detects the nucleocapsid protein in nasal swab specimens on the firm's multi-assay platform. The London-based firm noted that through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it has distributed 5,000 platforms in 49 African countries in a variety of care settings, including field clinics, airports, primary healthcare facilities, occupational health settings, and walk-through clinics.
Chembio Diagnostics this week said it has reached a deal with Reszon Diagnostics International to manufacture Chembio’s HIV 1/2 Stat Pak Assay products in the Chembio Diagnostics Malaysia facility, which had suspended operations in May 2020. The new arrangement will leverage Chembio Diagnostics Malaysia’s product and facility qualification by the World Health Organization and ISO 13485 certification. The facility will start operations in Q3 2022 if quality, production, and other targets are met, Chembio said.
Quotient this week announced the opening of a new office in Dubai and the incorporation of its subsidiary Quotient Middle-East and Africa as part of the firm's ongoing expansion plans. The opening of the new office marks the latest step in establishing a global presence, which is vital to the firm’s commercial strategy and goal of increasing laboratory efficiencies worldwide, Quotient CEO Manuel Mendez said in a statement.
MIP Diagnostics said this week that it has changed its name to MIP Discovery. Based in Bedfordshire, UK, the firm develops molecularly imprinted polymers, which are nanoparticles designed to mimic antibodies for use in diagnostic tests and other applications. The name change reflects the widened applications of the technology, including for drugs of abuse testing, food safety testing, and cell and gene therapy manufacturing, the company said.
AnPac Bio-Medical Science this week reported RMB 18.0 million ($2.8 million) in revenues for 2021, down 12 percent from RMB 20.5 million in 2020. The company, which has operations in China and the US, had a net loss of RMB 120.1 million in 2021, up from RMB 80.6 million in 2020. Its SG&A expenses were RMB 102.1 million in 2021, up 8 percent from RMB 94.5 million the year before. R&D expenses totaled RMB 16.2 million in 2021, up 40 percent from RMB 11.6 million in 2020. Last month, the firm signed an equity investment deal that will provide it with $15 million over two and a half years. The company received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq in March for failing to meet listing requirements. As of Dec. 31, 2021, AnPac Bio had RMB 9.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Gradientech said this week that its net loss for the first quarter was SEK 15.2 million ($1.5 million), or SEK .99 per share, compared to a net loss of SEK 10 million, or SEK .82 per share, in Q1 2021. The firm, which expects to soon launch QuickMIC, a Gram-negative antibiotic susceptibility test, reported no revenues.
At the end of the quarter, the Uppsala, Sweden-based firm had cash and cash equivalents of SEK 74 million.
It kicked off a clinical study of QuickMIC and its Gram-negative panel in January and recently inked manufacturing agreements with contract manufacturers for QuickMIC instruments and cassettes.
Quanterix said in its 10-Q form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this month that the total transaction price for its collaboration agreement with drugmaker Eli Lilly is $10.9 million.
Quest Diagnostics announced this week a quarterly dividend of $.66 per share, payable on July 20 to shareholders of record at the close of business July 6.
Thermo Fisher Scientific this week declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.30 per common share, payable on July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 15.
Agilent Technologies this week announced a quarterly dividend of $.21 per share, payable on July 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 5.
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.