Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a genetic information company, announced on June 22 it acquired Colorado-based ArcherDX for $883.3 million. ArcherDX offers genomic sequencing services and testing solutions to help develop and deliver personalized and precision diagnostics and monitoring in the field of oncology.
Invitae will pay $325 million in cash and 30 million shares of Invitae common shares at $18.61 per share (June 19, 2020 closing price). In addition, up to 27 million shares of Invitae stock could be payable upon milestone achievements
The combined company will be able to offer robust support for biopharmaceutical companies, from patient identification and screening to biomarker identification and companion diagnostic development. In connection with the proposed combination, Invitae has arranged over $400 million in financing commitments from life sciences investors, led by Perceptive Advisors.
According to our Deal Search Online database, Invitae has announced four transactions in 2020. On March 10, Invitae announced three separate transactions for values ranging from $20 million to a little under $100 million. The company purchased Genelex, a pharmacogenetic testing firm that offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help healthcare providers personalize medication regimens based on a patient’s genetics. Invitae spent $20.7 million in that deal.
The company also bought a pair of digital health companies. One was Diploid, the developer of an artificial intelligence software capable of diagnosing genetic disorders in minutes based on next-generation sequencing data and patient information for $95 million. The addition of Moon to Invitae’s state-of-the-art variant interpretation infrastructure extends its ability to quickly and efficiently turn large amounts of genetic data and phenotypic information into actionable reports for patients and clinicians.
The second acquisition was YouScript for $79.3 million. YouScript provides a clinical decision support platform to help physicians manage their patients’ medications in the context of genetic test results and can be integrated into electronic medical records.
Invitae will be combining the services of all three companies to create a pharmacogenetic point-of-care platform for clinicians and physicians.
