Empower Clinics Inc., a vertically integrated health and wellness company, has jumped into the healthcare M&A market. Last week, the company acquired Kai Medical Laboratory, LLC for an undisclosed sum. Kai Medical Laboratory is a high-complexity CLIA- and COLA-accredited laboratory that provides reliable and accurate testing solutions to hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies, and employer groups. Kai Medical Laboratory is located in Dallas, Texas.
The deal includes an 8,000-square-foot medical laboratory including a covered drive-up testing center with premium testing and laboratory equipment, cash and current assets all with a combined value in excess of $1.75 million. Kai Medical Laboratory is part of the national COVID-19 testing program, and Empower will incorporate Kai Medical’s testing capabilities through its national network of clinics.
To further assist with COVID-19 testing, Kai Medical Laboratory has also developed two key programs in Texas and Arizona. The first program is a direct-to-consumer program that leverages the ability of various healthcare providers to order and administer both the RT-PCR test and the antibody test. This increases the ability of the general population to be tested, in certain circumstances. The second is an Employer COVID-19 Compliance Program (ECCP) for business owners and employer groups to enable them to test and monitor their employees.
COVID-19 testing has been in high demand, thus spilling over into the M&A market. In August, QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN) acquired NeuMoDx Molecular, Inc.. an Ann-Arbor, Michigan based diagnostic company. QIAGEN already owned 19.9% of NeuoMoDX and will be acquiring the remaining 80.1% for $234 million.
QIAGEN expects NeuMoDx to provide significant sales contributions in the future based on its differentiation as a rapid, integrated PCR-based platform that offers a dedicated COVID-19 test as well as an expanding menu of tests for other infectious diseases
