OPKO Health (NYSE: OPK; TASE: OPK) has announced that it is buying Bio-Reference Laboratories (Nasdaq: BRLI) in a $1.5 billion share-swap deal.
Holders of Bio-Reference Laboratories common stock will receive 2.75 shares of OPKO common stock for each share of Bio-Reference Laboratories common stock. The companies expect the transaction to be completed during the second half of 2015.
OPKO says that it intends to leverage the national marketing, sales, and distribution resources of Bio-Reference Laboratories to enhance sales of its 4Kscore test, a blood test that provides a patient’s specific personalized risk score for aggressive prostate cancer as well as other OPKO diagnostic products under development.
“I have long admired Bio-Reference Laboratories which, for almost 30 years, has enjoyed an impressive record of organic growth through constant innovation and clinical awareness,” commented OPKO chairman and CEO Phillip Frost, “Bio-Reference Laboratories is a true success story that has culminated in cutting edge diagnostic solutions accompanied by a worldwide franchise in the diagnosis of rare diseases. GeneDx was the first commercial laboratory to offer next generation sequencing for rare disorders and almost a quarter of a million patients have benefited from these services including almost 20,000 patients who have undergone exome analysis. Their newly introduced sequencing services for use in oncology are both innovative and impressive.”
“Over the years we have learned that diagnostics are integral to drug discovery,” said Bio-Reference Laboratories’ chairman, CEO and president Marc Grodman. “This has never been more apparent than today when new sequencing technologies have afforded us the opportunity to understand the biological basis of disease in far greater depth. At Bio-Reference Laboratories we have prided ourselves in finding disruptive diagnostic solutions that are clinically relevant. Dr. Frost is a visionary in the pharmaceutical world who, during a legendary career, has demonstrated the foresight to see new clinical applications for therapeutics before others. I am thrilled that I will be working and learning from him in the coming years as we seek to leverage our outstanding capabilities to improve lives of patients."
OPKO Health's share price is down 3.05% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 4, 2015
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