PerkinElmer ($PKI) has become a much bigger player in China's molecular clinical diagnostics market with the wrap-up of its $38 million acquisition of Shanghai Haoyuan Biotech Co.
The final purchase price could go up, based on reaching revenue-based targets. But in the interim, PerkinElmer gains plenty with this purchase. Beyond giving the company a boost in a booming market, the deal also significantly expands PerkinElmer's portfolio of molecular infectious disease diagnostics. Haoyuan develops and sells molecular infectious disease diagnostics for both blood banks and clinical laboratories in China. These tests screen for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, among other infectious diseases.
In addition, there are some complementary gains that will help PerkinElmer take advantage of the evolving healthcare landscape in China. CEO Robert Friel said in a statement that the company will blend its disease screening diagnostics technology with Haoyuan's "proprietary reagents and equipment" to make highly sensitive diagnostic tests for blood-borne infections. Such an advance in China is timely, PerkinElmer notes, because the country is experiencing a 15% annual increase in the demand for blood, and regulators are both mandating and paying for infectious disease screening for donated blood.
And nucleic acid testing can be far more accurate than antibody testing, according to PerkinElmer, which can fail to detect disease in some cases because of the long incubation time involved in the testing method.
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