NEW YORK – Veracyte said this week that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of C2i Genomics, adding whole-genome minimal residual disease capabilities to its diagnostics platform. The firm purchased C2i for $70 million, paid for with 2.7 million Veracyte shares. It may pay an additional $25 million in Veracyte shares or cash based on milestones achieved over the next two years. Veracyte's first application of C2i's technology will be a muscle-invasive bladder cancer MRD test, to be followed by additional MRD tests in its focus indications.
Novacyt said this week that Inex Innovate has decided it will not acquire Yourgene Health Taiwan, a deal originally announced last June. As a result, the Taiwanese laboratory business will remain part of Novacyt, which acquired Yourgene Health in September 2023.
Sophia Genetics this week said it is expanding a 2022 program partnered with AstraZeneca to provide local testing for homologous recombination deficiency in Spain. The original agreement deployed HRD testing to five laboratories. Under the expanded agreement, HRD testing will be available to more laboratories with increased volume and speed of next-generation sequencing and tumor profiling.
Aspira Women’s Health this week announced a five-year, exclusive distribution agreement for its OvaSuite test with Hi-Precision Laboratories. Under the agreement, Hi-Precision will have the right to sell the OvaSuite portfolio in the Philippines. The company plans to begin sales upon receiving approval from the local regulatory authority and will pay royalties to Aspira for each test performed.
Mainz Biomed this week announced that it is opening the European Oncology Lab, an expansion of its partnership with Laboratory Dr. Buhlmann in Germany. Physicians and patients can now order the firm’s ColoAlert assay for colorectal cancer directly from Mainz as a laboratory medical service, which meets a “crucial requirement to invoice private health insurance companies,” Mainz said in a statement. The ability to invoice the company’s test as a laboratory medical service “opens a new revenue growth opportunity in addition to our established commercial sales channels,” Mainz Chief Commercial Officer Darin Leigh said in a statement.
Lucid Diagnostics this week said it has signed a contract with the World Trade Center Health Program to provide Lucid's EsoGuard Esophageal DNA test for esophageal precancer testing as a covered benefit for more than 120,000 first responders and other survivors who participate in the program for the monitoring and treatment of people affected by the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. EsoGuard tests are reimbursable at $2,475.81 each when prescribed by clinicians at the program's clinical centers of excellence.
Clinical research organization Celerion said this week that its bioanalytical laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been CLIA-certified and can now conduct laboratory-developed tests in specialized areas such as diagnostic immunology. The CLIA certification also allows Celerion to conduct studies requiring the reporting of patient-specific results, it said.
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.