Pharma Cozies Up to Diagnostic Labs

Pharma Cozies Up to Diagnostic Labs

Last year, the Laboratory, MRI & Dialysis sector posted robust deal volume, relatively speaking. The total of 52 announced transactions was a 58% gain compared with the year before, and better than every year since 2007, when 54 deals were announced (see the chart below). Two of the deals targeting a diagnostic lab or technology were made by major pharmaceutical companies. The common thread we’re seeing as we look back in our database is that these pharma companies are gaining another entry to physician practices, like the camel getting its nose under the tent. The largest deal was OPKO Health’s (NYSE: OPK) $1.47 billion acquisition of Bio-Reference Laboratories (NASDAQ:... Read More »

Top Deals in June 2015 Aren’t So Big

Healthcare M&A in June 2015 hasn’t been dead slow, but it certainly hasn’t kept pace with previous months’ totals. With 83 deals and $14.8 billion in spending, June 2015 lags far behind June 2014’s 120 transactions and $59.2 billion in spending. That said, we’re writing this on the day the U.S. Supreme Court found for the defendant (the Obama administration) in King v. Burwell, which means there could be a few very large deals announced between now and next week—particularly in the managed care sector, where the Big Five health insurers have already made plans to consolidate into the Big Three (see last week’s story in Health Care Deal News). For now, here are the five biggest deals... Read More »

OPKO Health Buys Bio-Reference Labs

OPKO Health (NYSE: OPK) may have posted a net loss of $244 million on a trailing 12-month basis, but it had the wherewithal to buy Bio-Reference Laboratories (NASDAQ: BRLI), one of the largest full-service diagnostic laboratories in the world. Bio-Reference provides clinical testing services to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities and employers in more than 50 countries. OPKO plans to leverage the company’s the national marketing, sales and distribution resources to boost sales of its 4Kscore test, a blood test that evaluates a patient’s risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Under terms of the deal, BRLI stockholders will receive 2.75 shares of OPKO common... Read More »