Quanterix announced after the close of the market on Wednesday that it has inked an agreement to acquire privately held UmanDiagnostics for $22.5 million.
Quanterix will pay Uman $16 million in cash and $6.5 million in Quanterix common stock.
Umeå, Sweden-based Uman supplies neurofilament light (Nf-L) antibodies and ELISA kits to advance the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative conditions. The biomarker has demonstrated utility in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of a wide range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, ALS, Huntington’s disease, and others, Quanterix said.
Billerica, Massachusetts-based Quanterix said that the acquisition will ensure that it can continue to supply researchers globally with SimoaNf-L assays, while continuing to develop new digital biomarkers to advance the field of research in diagnostics for neurology disorders.
"The acquisition of Uman will allow Quanterix to better support growing research with Nf-L and ultimately has the potential to accelerate the availability of diagnostic tests, while delivering significant strategic and financial value to Quanterix," Kevin Hrusovsky, CEO, president, and chairman of Quanterix, said in a statement. "Uman has developed a highly specific antibody pair that has exquisite affinity for the precise epitopes of clinically relevant Nf-L in blood and [cerebrospinal fluid]," Hrusovsky said.
When Uman's technology is combined with the sensitivity of the QuanterixSimoa technology, Nf-L can be measured with high precision in less invasive samples than CSF, such as blood, he said.
Quanterix said in a statement that Nf-L has seen "dramatic growth in the last three years" since it developed an assay using Uman’s antibodies that could reliably measure Nf-L in blood.
Quanterix said it does not anticipate Uman’s revenues from sales of Nf-L antibodies to other customers and from ELISA kits to be material, but future applications of Nf-L have the potential to provide "significant revenue growth opportunities."
More than 25 percent of the Massachusetts firm's total revenues rely on Nf-L as a component.
Serum Nf-L is currently in 46 active key clinical trials and has potential as a clinical test for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of major neurodegenerative conditions, Quanterix said, adding that in aggregate these diagnostic opportunities represent an estimated total available market of $10 billion.
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