NEW YORK — Roche this week announced that its Tina-quant lipoprotein Lp(a) RxDx test has received breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. The assay is intended to select patients with elevated Lp(a) and a history of atherosclerotic disease for treatment with an Lp(a) lowering drug. The test measures the number of Lp(a) molecules per liter in a person's blood and will run on selected Cobas instruments, Roche said in a statement. It was developed in collaboration with Amgen.
Thermo Fisher Scientific said this week that its board of directors has authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $.39 per common share, payable on July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 14.
Agilent Technologies announced this week that its board of directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $.24 per share of its common stock payable on July 24 to shareholders of record on July 2.
Trinity Biotech this week reported its first-quarter revenues fell less than 1 percent to $14.7 million from $14.8 million in the year-ago quarter as a decline in the firm's clinical laboratory revenues was mostly offset by a rise in its point-of-care testing revenues. For the quarter ended March 31, the Dublin-based firm reported a net loss of $3.3 million, or a loss of $.37 per share, compared to a net loss of $6.3 million, or a loss of $.76 per share, a year earlier. The company ended the quarter with $5.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and deposits.
South Korean cancer diagnostics company Lunit said this week that it has completed its acquisition of New Zealand-based breast cancer screening software firm Volpara Health Technologies. Lunit will integrate Volpara's breast health platform with its own AI-based technologies for breast cancer detection. Additionally, the deal will provide Lunit entry into the US market, it said. In December, the company said it planned to acquire Volpara for A$1.15 (US$.77) per share in a deal valued at A$292 million.
Oxford BioDynamics said this week that it has signed an agreement with the London Clinic, a private hospital in the UK, to provide patients at the clinic with access to OBD's EpiSwitch PSE (Prostate Screening) and EpiSwitch CiRT (Checkpoint inhibitor Response Test) blood tests. EpiSwitch PSE is a screening test for prostate cancer that has better accuracy than a standard PSA tests, according to the Oxford, UK-based firm. EpiSwitch CiRT identifies patients who will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy to support first-line treatment planning and to identify ICI candidates among patients where other options have been exhausted.
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.