Life Technologies ($LIFE) is buying cancer diagnostics company Navigenics, looking to cash in on the boom in diagnostics.
Life didn't disclose the terms of the acquisition, but the company said the purchase represents a first step toward expanding its molecular diagnostics business and inking deals for companion diagnostic development.
Navigenics has a regulator-approved genetics-testing lab and proprietary software that Life said will help develop molecular diagnostic tests. Life plans to implement Navigenics' know-how to spur deals with pharma companies on companion diagnostics, an industry analysts say is poised to grow rapidly over the next decade.
"The advent of personalized medicine will require a combination of technologies and informatics focused on delivering relevant information to the treating physician," said Ronnie Andrews, medical sciences president at Life Technologies, in a statement. "Navigenics has pioneered the synthesis and communication of complex genomic information, and we will now pivot the company's effort to date and focus on becoming a comprehensive provider of technology and informatics to pathologists and oncologists worldwide."
And Life is hardly done expanding its holdings in genetic testing and diagnostics. CEO Greg Lucier told Bloomberg that the company is eyeing more acquisitions, and "[t]here's more coming that will ride on top of this."
- read Life's statement
- get more from Bloomberg