NEW YORK – BioReference Laboratories announced this week that it is rolling out a COVID-19 testing program for US-based crew and guests traveling with Royal Caribbean Group cruise ships. Under the terms of the agreement, unvaccinated guests will be required to receive rapid point-of-care testing for COVID-19 before embarking on their trips and at the end of the trip before disembarking. Depending on the length of the trip, guests may also receive testing on board the ship. All Royal Caribbean crew members will be required to receive laboratory-based PCR testing at regular intervals, BioReference added.
The Tecan Group said this week it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Paramit and its affiliates for $1 billion. Morgan Hill, California-based Paramit is an original equipment manufacturer of medical devices and life sciences instruments. The company has 1,000 employees and has been privately held by Altaris Capital Partners since 2011.
Mannedorf, Switzerland-based Tecan said the deal will bolster its life sciences and in vitro diagnostics operations by increasing its engineering and manufacturing capabilities in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Products manufactured by Paramit include surgical instruments, point-of-care and personal testing devices, diagnostic systems, and modules and systems for surgical robotics.
In 2021, Tecan is expected to generate about $280 million in sales. Tecan said the deal is expected to add about $300 million in revenues to the firm in 2022.
The Access to Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Coalition this week added Personal Genome Diagnostics and Sema4 to its coalition of diagnostics companies, laboratory service providers, and comprehensive genomic profiling industry stakeholders to advocate for appropriate broad US health insurance coverage of CGP for patients living with advanced cancer.
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.