NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bruker disclosed in its annual 10-K filing with the SEC this week that it has received a subpoena from the agency's Division of Enforcement seeking information related to an employee terminated as part of a restructuring, and certain matters involving the company's policies and accounting practices related to revenue recognition and restructuring activities, as well as related financial reporting, disclosure, and compliance matters since Jan. 1, 2013. In addition, the SEC is seeking information concerning the firm's previously identified material weakness in internal controls over the accounting for income taxes, related financial reporting matters, and certain payments for non-employee travel expenses. Bruker said that it is producing documents in response to the subpoena and intends to continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Biodesix and Checkmate Pharmaceuticals this week entered into a biomarker research collaboration focusing on the analysis of the circulating proteome of patients with advanced melanoma treated with CMP-001 in combination with pembrolizumab. The collaboration will use Biodesix's Diagnostic Cortex AI-based biomarker discovery platform, which can be used to develop proteomic liquid biopsy tests.
CMP-001 is a first-in-class CpG-A oligonucleotide that activates the innate immune system via Toll-like receptor 9. In combination with pembrolizumab, the therapy may improve the response rate of cancer patients receiving checkpoint inhibitor therapies and increase the magnitude and duration of anti-tumor responses. A serum-based diagnostic test, if found to be associated with a favorable response to CMP-001, could aid in identifying patients more likely to benefit from the combination therapy, Biodesix said.
T2 Biosystems this week reported a fourth quarter net loss of $18.2 million, or $.51 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.6 million, or $.48 per share, a year ago. It missed the consensus Wall Street estimate for a loss per share of $.43 for the quarter.
The company announced some earnings figures earlier this month, but did not disclose its net profit/loss, or EPS or loss per share for Q4 2017 or full-year 2017. It reported those numbers in a Form 10-K filed with the SEC this week.
For full year 2017, the company posted a net loss of $62.5 million, or $1.94 per share, compared to a net loss of $54.9 million, or $2.11 per share, in 2016. It missed the consensus Wall Street estimate for a loss per share of $1.86.
T2 ended the year with $41.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Meridian Bioscience announced this week that it is changing its organizational structure to reorganize into two business units, diagnostics and life sciences. The two business units will now have a consolidated sales and marketing team supporting the firm's entire product portfolio. The diagnostics unit will comprise the firm's Illumigene molecular brand; core diagnostics brands Premier, Merifluor, and Para-Pak; point-of-care brands ImmunoCard, Tru, and Magellan LeadCare; and an immunoassay brand in development called Curian. The life sciences unit will consist of the MLS immunological reagents and Bioline molecular reagents. The new model will also leverage relationships across each of the business units to drive increased efficiency and cost savings, Meridian CEO Jack Kenny said in a statement.
Agilent Technologies this week declared a quarterly dividend of $.15 per share of common stock, to be paid on April 25 to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 3.
The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council and PerkinElmer this week signed a letter of intent to work together for five years to promote India-led biomedical, biotechnology, and public health startups and innovators. PerkinElmer said it will continue to invest in India by supporting government initiatives in technology that helps protect the environment, food safety, and the health of mothers and their newborn babies.
Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks this week announced the official name of their joint venture, Joyn Bio. Bayer and Ginkgo founded Joyn Bio in September 2017, and have since established research operations in Boston, and opened additional facilities in West Sacramento, California. Joyn Bio's goal is to use synthetic biology to support the agriculture industry's sustainability efforts, starting with reducing the environmental impact of nitrogen fertilizer. The Joyn Bio team is currently characterizing Bayer's library of more than 100,000 proprietary microbial strains.
Strata Oncology announced this week that Aurora Health Care and the University of Texas Health Sciences at Houston have joined the Strata Precision Oncology Network. The network provides advanced cancer patients routine access to tumor profiling and matches them to a portfolio of biomarker-driven pharma-sponsored clinical trials. Since it was founded in 2016, it has expanded to 10 healthcare systems representing more than 85,000 new cancer patients annually, Strata said. Members have access to the StrataNGS test, an 87-gene assay that sequences both DNA and RNA.
In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on the GenomeWeb site.