NEW YORK – This week more than 30 lab and healthcare provider organizations including the American Clinical Laboratory Association and the National Independent Laboratory Association issued a letter to House and Senate leaders asking them to pass the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) this year. The organizations noted that with passage of SALSA, roughly 800 lab tests will receive Medicare reimbursement cuts of up to 15 percent at the start of 2024. SALSA would limit those cuts while also providing a new methodology for pricing laboratory testing under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act.
Thermo Fisher Scientific said this week that its board of directors has authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $.35 per common share, payable on July 14 to shareholders of record as of June 15.
Eurobio Scientific said this week that it obtained IVDR CE markings for three unspecified PCR tests from its EurobioPlex line last week, following an audit by its French notified body, GMED, during which its ISO 13485:2016 certification was renewed for three years. The French specialty diagnostics and life sciences company claimed that it is one of the first European companies to obtain the designation for its products. The firm is now allowed to market the three tests as class C in vitro diagnostic medical devices, which require expertise in molecular diagnostics of infectious diseases.
Chinese molecular diagnostic products company Tianlong said this week that it has partnered with public hospitals in northern Thailand to build up diagnostic testing for hepatitis C and B. Tianlong, based in Xi'an, said its HCV and HBV detection solution, consisting of its PANA9600S nucleic acid extraction system, Gentier 96 PCR system, and HCV/HBV reagents, has been installed at public hospitals in Thailand since 2022. The company has now signed a seven-year agreement with local hospitals in Thailand and expects its testing platform to be installed at additional local hospitals in the future. It also said its sexually transmitted infections tests will become available in Thailand soon.
Enzo Biochem this week filed a $150 million mixed shelf securities offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering can include common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants, and units, and the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, the company said. Enzo is in the process of selling the assets of its clinical laboratory division to Laboratory Corporation of America for roughly $146 million in cash. This week the company noted it had made "significant progress" toward completing the sale as the proposal was approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the company's shareholders.
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.