Siemens Healthineers inks deal to buy Fast Track Diagnostics for undisclosed price

Healthineers, a subsidiary of Siemens, inked a deal to acquire Fast Track Diagnostics (FTD), a Luxembourg-based maker of diagnostics that can distinguish between viral, bacterial or other infections in one test.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

With the acquisition of FTD, Healthineers expands its menu of Versant kPCR Molecular System by over 80 assays and syndromic panels, the company said. FTD’s tests target conditions such as respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, meningitis, hepatitis, infections of the immunosuppressed, tropical diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and early childhood diseases, and can detect over 140 viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi.

“By integrating the high-quality and cost effective solutions of Fast Track Diagnostics into our own cutting-edge molecular diagnostics portfolio, Siemens Healthineers continues to strengthen and expand its presence in the field of molecular testing and precision medicine,” Fernando Beils, Healthineers’ head of molecular diagnostics, said in a statement.

With the deal, Healthineers gets FTD’s sites in Luxembourg, Malta, and India, and about 80 employees. The company will continue to operate as Fast Track Diagnostics.

The fate of Siemens Healthineers has kept analysts buzzing this year. In late October, press reports said Siemens had named Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to lead a Healthineers IPO. Earlier this year Siemens said it planned to keep a majority stake in the unit after a spinoff or IPO, and then in May hinted that Healthineers may go public through a reverse merger instead.