Labcorp announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire select operating assets and intellectual property (IP) from Myriad Genetics’ autoimmune business unit, including the Vectra rheumatoid arthritis (RA) assay, for $150 million, according to news releases.
More than one million Vectra tests have been completed since the product’s launch in November 2010, and a meaningful portion of testing volume currently flows through Labcorp.
“The addition of the Vectra testing capabilities to our in-house products offers tremendous potential for us to expand the test’s availability and make Labcorp a single-source diagnostics solution for RA providers," said Brian Caveney, MD, Chief Medical Officer and President of Labcorp Diagnostics.
Vectra is a non-invasive, blood-based test that analyzes 12 biomarkers to measure RA disease activity. It combines those measures to generate an easy-to-understand score, which indicates the severity of RA inflammation and how well current treatments are working. It also can predict potential, future joint damage. This enables the 5,000 practicing rheumatologists in the U.S. to provide targeted treatment and adjust existing treatments to better manage RA symptoms.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
