NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Johnson & Johnson company Veridex said today that it will acquire substantially all of the assets of cancer diagnostics firm Immunicon for $31 million in cash.
The assets involved in the sale include intellectual property, product inventory, clinical data, and all technologies related to Immunicon’s CellSearch system, which automates the detection and enumeration of circulating tumor cells. The system is currently cleared for the prognosis and monitoring of patients with metastatic breast, metastatic colorectal, and metastatic prostate cancer.
Immunicon is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, and the bankruptcy court overseeing its case must approve the deal. Veridex said that the acquisition price is subject to certain closing adjustments, plus the discharge and release of certain claims owed to Veridex, and the assumption of certain liabilities.
The firms have been collaborators since 2000 in developing cancer diagnostic platforms and products.
In addition to selling CellSearch assays, Veridex also sells GeneSearch assays that use molecular technology.