Diagnostics, COVID-19 and Beyond

Diagnostics, COVID-19 and Beyond

Testing has become one of the most defining words of 2020, especially as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. We see it in headlines daily and President Trump lists the testing capacity of the United States as one of his crowning achievements.  But politics and media coverage aside, health experts often cite testing as one of the key components to containing the spread of the virus, underscoring the importance of those services.   The demand for COVID-19 testing and diagnostics can be seen in recent quarterly earnings reports. LabCorp’s (NYSE: LH) revenue jumped by 33% in Q3:20 to $3.9 billion, compared with Q3:19. Roughly 31.5% of the increase was thanks to organic growth, bolstered by... Read More »
Exact Sciences Acquires Thrive Earlier Detection

Exact Sciences Acquires Thrive Earlier Detection

After over a year away from the healthcare M&A market, Exact Sciences Corp. (NYSE: EXAS) is back with a new acquisition. Last week, the company announced it purchased Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Thrive Earlier Detection Corp., a healthcare company focused on incorporating earlier cancer detection into routine medical care. Thrive is developing CancerSEEK, a liquid biopsy test that is designed to detect many cancers at earlier stages of disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Exact Science will pay $1.7 billion at closing, consisting of Exact Sciences common stock and 35% in cash. An additional $450 million would be payable based upon the achievement of certain milestones.... Read More »
Innovative Renal Care Acquires American Renal Associates

Innovative Renal Care Acquires American Renal Associates

Innovative Renal Care, a portfolio company of Nautic Partners, has significantly expanded its network through a new acquisition. The dialysis provider has added American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ARA) for $853 million, or $11.50 per share in cash, representing an approximate premium of 66% to the company’s closing price on October 1, 2020. The price includes net debt. ARA is a leading provider of outpatient dialysis services in the United States. As of June 30, 2020, ARA operated 251 dialysis clinic locations in 27 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 17,300 patients with end-stage renal disease. ARA generated 12-month revenues of $815.8 million with EBITDA of... Read More »
Innovative Renal Care Acquires American Renal Associates

Ampersand Capital Partners Strikes Two Deals

Ampersand Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, had a busy week, announcing two deals back to back. On September 21, the company revealed it acquired GeneWerk GmbH and American Laboratory Products Company, Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Based in Heidelberg, Germany, GeneWerk GmbH is a cell and gene therapy testing laboratory focused on providing preclinical and clinical trial patient sample analysis services. The company is recognized as a leading provider of vector integration site analysis (ISA) services, a method that was developed by the company’s founders and that the FDA and European Medicines Agency recommend performing after the administration of both... Read More »
Kai Medical Labs Acquired by Empower Clinics to Ramp Up COVID Testing

Kai Medical Labs Acquired by Empower Clinics to Ramp Up COVID Testing

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... Read More »
Sonde Health Buys NeurLex to Boost Voice Science Platform

Sonde Health Buys NeurLex to Boost Voice Science Platform

Last week, Boston-based Sonde Health acquired NeuroLex Laboratories, Inc. to expand its voice-based technology platform. Sonde’s proprietary platform detects symptoms of health conditions, such as depression and respiratory disease, from changes in voice. Using machine learning, Sonde senses and analyzes subtle vocal changes due to changes in a person’s physiology to provide early health detection and monitoring. Sone Health has 300,000 voice samples from over 50,000 individuals. The data is especially useful in the fields of psychosis and related psychiatric treatment. NeuroLex Labs offers highly complementary services. It also uses speech analysis to detect various health... Read More »