bioMérieux strengthens its point of care presence with the acquisition of the immunoassay start-up SpinChip

Original  from: bioMérieux

bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire SpinChip Diagnostics ASA (“SpinChip”), a privately held Norwegian diagnostics company that has developed a game-changing immunoassay diagnostics platform. The small benchtop analyzer is well adapted to near patient testing as it can deliver a result from a whole blood sample within 10 minutes with the same high-sensitivity performance as the laboratory instruments. bioMérieux has held a minority stake in SpinChip since March 2024.

SpinChip is initially developing lab-quality tests to address indications that are common in acute care settings, and in particular Myocardial Infarction (MI) which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current diagnostic methods based on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays, have significantly improved the accuracy of MI diagnosis but are still lacking fast turnaround times due to sample transportation and processing time. This often leads to prolonged Emergency Departments stays and increased health care costs due to delays in diagnosis.

“bioMérieux firmly believes in the importance of point of care (“POC”) diagnostics, which bring the power of testing closer to the patient, positively impacting patient care and reducing overall healthcare costs. The SpinChip solution is a game changer, combining the best of both worlds: the ease of use and fast time-to-result of POC systems with the precision and performance of high-sensitivity lab assays. Allowing physicians to make an accurate and rapid diagnosis is crucial for patients with myocardial infarctions”, explained Dr Charles K. Cooper, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at bioMérieux.

SpinChip will first focus on well-established and utilized cardiac markers like high-sensitive troponin I (hs-TnI), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and D-Dimer and will expand testing to other clinical areas important in acute care settings. The performance of the first assay in the menu, hs-TnI, has been validated in a retrospective clinical study with the APACE cohort(1) and is currently being assessed in a multicenter European clinical trial. SpinChip expects to lodge an application for CE marking under the IVDR before the end of 2025.

Morten Jurs, Chief Executive Officer of SpinChip, commented: “Over the past 10 years, SpinChip has developed a game-changing immunoassay POC platform with the ambition to significantly improve patient outcomes, reduce costs in Emergency Departments and across the healthcare industry. Having collaborated closely with bioMérieux over the last nine months, we are close to fulfilling our mission to be a contributor to better and more efficient diagnoses. We believe that under the ownership of bioMérieux, our platform can be optimally developed to reach the market and most importantly, the patients.”

Pierre Boulud, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux declared: “The acquisition of SpinChip is very promising for bioMérieux and fully consistent with our GO•28 strategic plan agenda. We already serve the point-of-care market with BIOFIRE® SPOTFIRE®, a best-in-class molecular biology system. With SpinChip’s disruptive technology, we will complement our offer and strengthen our presence in the point-of-care segment. This acquisition will also allow to leverage the unique R&D and manufacturing bioMérieux capabilities in the field of immunoassays that we have built with VIDAS®. SpinChip will pave the way for bioMérieux growth beyond 2028, sustaining our mission to improve patient outcomes worldwide.”

Financial information

Under the terms of the agreement, bioMérieux will acquire 100% ownership of SpinChip for a total enterprise value of €138m. The cash out will amount to approximately €111m since bioMérieux already owns 20% of the shares of SpinChip. Completion of the acquisition is expected shortly.

With the first product launch expected in 2026, this acquisition paves the way for bioMérieux growth beyond 2028.

The operating expenses related to the integration and the development of SpinChip solutions will be fully embedded in the bioMérieux annual R&D investments (~12% of annual sales) by redeploying internal resources.

Source: bioMérieux strengthens its point of care presence with the acquisition of the immunoassay start-up SpinChip