LabCorp (NYSE: LH), the world’s leading healthcare diagnostics company, has acquired Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a pioneer in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for reproductive health, for a total purchase price of $371 million.
In July of 2014, Sequenom purchased a license for non-invasive prenatal testing patents and applications from privately-held Mayo Medical Laboratories, and two months later it acquired intellectual property from privately-held Isis Innovation for non-invasive prenatal testing intellectual property. Today, Sequenom is the first laboratory to offer a clinically validated NIPT test (MaterniT®21), which has completed more than 500,000 tests to date.
LabCorp’s most recent acquisition prior to Sequenom was Pathology Inc., a full-service women’s health laboratory, in December of last year. The opportunities presented by the Sequenom transaction are significant for LabCorp’s reproductive health business as well as its liquid biopsy strategy, as it continues to strengthen its foothold in women’s health.
