NEW YORK – Abbott last week said in its Form 10-Q filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its management approved plans to streamline operations to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. As a result, the company recorded employee-related severance and other charges of $60 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30. Of that $60 million, $39 million was recorded in the cost of products sold, $2 million was recorded in research and development, and $19 million was recorded in selling, general, and administrative expenses. Payments related to the actions totaled $25 million in the period, and Abbott recognized asset impairment charges of $22 million related to the restructuring plans.
Thermo Fisher Scientific's board this week authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $.39 per share, payable on Jan. 14, 2025, to shareholders of record on Dec. 13, 2024.
Precision oncology genomics company Personalis this week said its third quarter revenues jumped 41 percent to $25.7 million from $18.2 million a year ago driven largely by nearly doubling its pharma testing and services revenue to $15.7 million from $8.0 million a year ago. During the quarter, the company also raised approximately $35.0 million in net financing proceeds from Tempus AI, consisting of $18.4 million from Tempus' exercise of all its common stock warrants, at an average price of $2.00 per share, and $16.6 million net of expenses, from Tempus' purchase of common stock at a price of $5.07 per share. Personalis also raised an additional $27.2 million in net proceeds in the quarter from selling common stock under an at-the-market program at a weighted-average price of $5.84 per share. The company's Q3 net loss swelled to $39.1 million, or $.64 per share, from a net loss of $29.1 million, or $.60 per share, a year ago. Personalis also raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $83 million to $84 million from prior guidance of $79 million to $81 million.
The National Health Service (NHS) in Wales and Illumina have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) designed to "foster coproduction in genomics and promote seamless integration across the health and social care system in Wales," the partners said in a statement this week. The MoU will build on existing research into lung cancer diagnostics, with the ambition to further expand into other cancer types and into wider areas of genomics with the aim of prevention, earlier diagnosis, and personalized treatments, the partners said. The agreement has been signed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff University, Public Health Wales, and Illumina Cambridge Limited, in collaboration with the Welsh government and facilitated by Life Science Hub Wales and Genomics Partnership Wales.
Jessica Marathe, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Adelaide and an interventional cardiologist with Central Adelaide Local Health Network in Australia, has received a $75,000 grant from the Heart Foundation Australia to investigate genetic causes of underdiagnosed cardiovascular conditions, specifically coronary vasomotor disorders, the university said this week. With the funding, Marathe and colleagues will perform genomic sequencing on 120 people with the disorder to try to identify genetic markers associated with the condition. The findings could underpin efforts to develop and trial targeted therapies, Marathe said.
Genomate Health said this week it entered into an exclusive distribution partnership with Vietnam-based Digosys, a subsidiary of Thabis. Under the terms of the agreement, Digosys will use its Genous service to distribute Genomate Health's precision oncology therapeutic response tool Genomate throughout Vietnam.
Molecular diagnostics firm Co-Diagnostics this week reported third quarter revenues of $600,000, down from $2.5 million in the year-ago period primarily due to the timing of grant revenue recognition. The company recorded $400,000 in grant revenue and $200,000 in product revenue in Q3. The firm's quarterly net loss swelled to $9.7 million, or $.32 per share, from a net loss of $6 million, or $.20 per share, a year ago. Co-Diagnostics finished the quarter with $37.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on GenomeWeb.