NEW YORK – PerkinElmer said in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it reduced its headcount by 40 employees during the third quarter and took $3.2 million in charges. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based firm said it cut its staff in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2022 to "realign resources to emphasize growth initiatives and integrate new acquisitions." The charges were comprised of $2.1 million associated with the firm's discovery and analytical solutions unit and $1.1 million associated with its diagnostics unit.
Hologic said in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it recorded $2.6 million in charges related to workforce reductions in fiscal year 2022 and $500,000 in charges related to facility closure costs. The firm did not disclose the effects on its headcount, which was 6,944 full-time employees as of Sept. 24. During the fiscal year, the company finalized a decision to close a Danbury, Connecticut facility for manufacturing breast health capital equipment products and allow most employees at that facility to transfer to positions at locations in Delaware and Massachusetts. Hologic also terminated employees across multiple divisions, outsourced one of its US distribution sites, and consolidated its offices in Germany during fiscal 2022.
Bio-Techne said this week that it has opened a new product innovation and manufacturing facility in Wallingford, Connecticut that will more than double the original site’s operational footprint. The site provides a fivefold increase in production capacity for the firm’s Ella immunoassay cartridges, to 500,000 per year. The site has increased laboratory, manufacturing, and cleanroom space, Bio-Techne said.
Natera has laid off 58 employees from its California location. According to a company spokesperson, the layoffs were part of a regular business priority review and are not expected to have a large impact on the firm, given the small percentage of its workforce affected.
Quest Diagnostics said this week that its board of directors authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $.66 per share of common stock, payable on Feb. 1, 2023 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 18, 2023.
Agilent Technologies said this week that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $.23 per share of its common stock, payable on Jan. 25 to all shareholders of record on Jan. 3.
South Korean molecular diagnostics firm Seegene said this week that it has won a €45 million ($46.5 million) tender to supply diagnostic reagents to the regional government of Tuscany, Italy. Seegene's local subsidiary in Italy, Arrow Diagnostics, was selected as the supplier. Under the contract, Seegene will provide COVID-19 test kits as well as diagnostic reagents for the detection of human papillomavirus infections, sexually transmitted infections, antibiotic resistance determinants, and M. tuberculosis to 13 public hospitals in Tuscany starting in January of 2023. COVID-19 tests account for 57 percent and non-COVID products for 43 percent of the contract.
DermTech and Sonora Quest Laboratories said this week that they have signed an agreement making Sonora Quest the exclusive laboratory in Arizona offering the DermTech Melanoma Test. According to the companies, the agreement will expand Arizona patients’ access to the test, which uses DermTech’s Smart Sticker technology to collect skin cells to be tested for melanoma-associated genomic markers.
Mainz Biomed said this week that it has initiated eAArly DETECT, a US extension of its European feasibility study, ColoFuture, to evaluate the integration of five novel mRNA biomarkers into its ColoAlert colorectal cancer detection test. The company licensed the biomarkers earlier this year from the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada. Both ColoFuture and eAArly DETECT are multi-center studies assessing the potential of these biomarkers to identify advanced adenomas, a type of precancerous polyp associated with CRC. Mainz Biomed plans to complete enrollment for eAArly DETECT in Q1 of 2023 and to report topline results in the first half of the year. Based on the outcome, it may include any of the biomarkers in its US pivotal study, scheduled to start in Q4 of 2022.
Todos Medical said this week that its third quarter revenues rose 90 percent to $1.9 million from $1.0 million in Q3 of 2021. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based diagnostics firm posted a net loss of $5.7 million, breaking even on a per-share basis, compared to a net loss of $10.4 million, or $.01 per share, a year ago. Todos attributed the decrease in its net loss to a $3.0 million reduction in financing expenses. It had cash and cash equivalents of $57,000 at the end of Q3.
Pathnostics said this week that it has opened a new lab in Lake Mary, Florida, and is expanding its lab and headquarters in Irvine, California. The Florida lab will initially focus on the firm's Guidance UTI test for the rapid identification and treatment of complicated, recurrent, and persistent urinary tract infections. The assay combines PCR and pooled antibiotic susceptibility testing. The lab is an 8,500 square foot facility and will have 30 employees to start. The new California facility will have 55,000 square feet, and relocation to the site is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Pathnostics also maintains a third, CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified lab in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Streamline Scientific of Birmingham, Alabama, said this week that it has partnered with UroGPO to support urologists and their in-house PCR testing labs. UroGPO is a group purchasing organization that provides services to urology professionals. Streamline offers consultation services for physician practices and reference labs for implementing in-house PCR labs. It also runs its own CLIA-certified reference lab in Alabama.
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.