NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Thermo Fisher Scientific and Roper Technologies said this week that they have mutually terminated an agreement under which Thermo Fisher would have acquired Gatan, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roper. Under the agreement, announced by the companies a year ago, Thermo Fisher would have acquired Gatan for approximately $925 million in cash. The deal was expected to close by the end of 2018.
SpeeDx said this week that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Device designation for its ResistancePlus GC molecular test, which could expedite its path toward regulatory clearance. ResistancePlus GC provides ciprofloxacin susceptibility and resistance information to effectively treat N.gonorrhea, the firm said. It detects both N. gonorrhea and sequences in the gyrA gene of the bacteria associated with susceptibility or resistance to ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic treatment for sexually transmitted infections. The firm said that results from the test can be used to guide treatment decisions for gonorrhea infections, giving doctors and patients the option of using ciprofloxacin instead of ceftriaxone.
Cofactor Genomics announced this week that it has joined the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium, with the goal of advancing the adoption of multidimensional biomarkers in cancer and immune-related diseases. The FNIH Biomarkers Consortium was launched in 2006. In addition to the FNIH, founding members include the NIH, the FDA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the CMS, and BIO.
Cofactor said it will contribute its ImmunoPrism assay in order to help the consortium advance its research in inflammation, immunity, and cancer. Cofactor’s technical teams will participate in the consortium and offer expertise in ImmunoPrism reagents and services to achieve advanced profiling of immune response.
BC Platforms announced this week that the German biobank Interdisciplinary Center for Biobanking-Lübeck (ICB-L) will join the company's BCRQUEST.com global network of biobanks. As part of the collaboration, BC Platforms provides its BCRQUEST.com platform to academic and industry researchers to enable them to efficiently browse and analyze harmonized data for scientific research and drug development. ICB-L, the first German biobank to join this network, will provide access to summary level data of more than 60,000 subjects with clinical and/or research data.
Abbott this week declared a quarterly dividend of $.32 per share, payable on Aug. 15 to shareholders of record on July 15.
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