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Lab21 targets fungal infections
July 2011
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CAMBRIDGE, U.K.—Lab21 Ltd., a personalized medicine and
clinical diagnostics company, has made its sixth acquisition in the past two
years with the purchase of Myconostica Ltd., a molecular
diagnostic company
focusing on the diagnosis of clinically significant fungal infections. The
financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In addition to developing
global sales of Myconostica
products, Lab21 will also be launching the Myconostica fungal testing services
from its new reference laboratory in South
Carolina as well as its laboratory
in Cambridge.
Current fungal diagnostic tests based on culturing
techniques have significant clinical limitations, and Myconostica says its
molecular diagnostic approach provides more rapid, sensitive and specific
information, which together will improve clinical outcomes.
"Lab21's growth strategy is based on the classical
acquisition model," says Graham Mullis, Lab21's CEO. "Myconostica has been on
our list for two years or more, and we are delighted they are now on
board. The
company's products complement our infectious diseases portfolio and help
position the company in a large market where there are significant
clinical
challenges."
Mullis notes that his company's newest acquisition will soon
announce two new
products and has a facility in South Carolina—now
unmanned—that is available as needed for growth.
Myconostica,
also based in the United Kingdom, was spun out
from the University of Manchester. It specializes in rapid molecular diagnostic
tests for life-
threatening fungal infections. Traditional methods for detecting
fungal infections are well-documented as being relatively insensitive and slow,
Mullis
notes. In fact, he states that 50 percent of aspergillosis cases are
diagnosed on the mortuary table.
Tests
provided by Myconostica aim to allow healthcare
professionals to rapidly identify patients infected and enable clinicians to
prescribe appropriate drug
therapy via a portfolio of real-time PCR molecular
diagnostic tests for life-threatening fungal infections. As many as 10 million
to 12 million people
are at risk for these infections each year in Europe and
North America alone, Mullis says. Among the worst, Aspergillosis affects leukemia,
transplant and corticosteroid-treated
patients, including asthma and COPD. Pneumocystis affects HIV-infected and AIDS
patients as well as many others
with sub-optimal immune symptoms.
Myconostica has three CE-marked products on the market in
Europe, Canada and
Southern Africa, which were launched in 2010 and are capable
of running on a wide range of testing platforms. These include a product for
extracting
fungal DNA from human samples and tests for the detection of Aspergillus and Pneumocystis jirovecii. Lab21 will seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approvals upon review.
Mullis also says that commercial discussions with
prospective U.S.-based customers are underway, along with plans to seek support
on
the distribution side.
The privately held company provides diagnostic products and
services and supports blood
bank screening, medical diagnostics and drug
discovery. The products division manufactures immunodiagnostic kits and
reagents that are distributed
internationally and is focused on infectious
diseases for the blood-banking and clinical markets. In addition to its
corporate offices in Cambridge and
South Carolina, the company has a GMP
manufacturing site in Cambridge and other manufacturing facilities in
Newmarket, Camberley and Bridport, U.K.
Speaking about the transaction, Prof. David Denning of the
University Hospital of South Manchester, founder and chief medical officer
of Myconostica, says, "We
have developed fast and sensitive molecular
diagnostics for life-threatening fungal infections such as Aspergillosis and Pneumocystis
pneumonia that will transform patient care for these
infections. Fungal infections are frequently under-diagnosed using current
diagnostic methods and
are much more common than realized. The global reach of
Lab21's operations will extend the availability of Myconostica's products to
many more
clinicians. I look forward to working with Lab21 to further develop
the evidence base demonstrating the great clinical value of molecular testing
for
fungi, as is routine for viruses."
Lab21 focuses on diagnostic tests with Microgen
Bioproducts acquisition
CAMBRIDGE, U.K.—Lab21 Ltd. last month also announced the
acquisition of
Microgen Bioproducts Ltd., a U.K.-based company
specializing in
the development, manufacture and sale of diagnostic tests to identify diseases
and organisms that pose a threat to health.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Lab21
said Microgen's expertise in microbiological
assay development and
commercialization complements its diagnostics portfolio, particularly in the
infectious disease market, and provides further
expansion of its distribution
channel in key territories such as the United States, United Kingdom, Europe
and Asia.
"Microgen Bioproducts is a well-established and profitable
business which will significantly contribute to our growth plans in our
core
products division," said Graham Mullis, CEO of Lab21, in a statement. "This
acquisition highlights Lab21's commitment to continuing its
exciting roll-up
strategy and we expect to bring other high-quality acquisitions into the group
during 2011. "Code: E071113 Back |
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