NEW YORK – Guardant Health said Monday that it has completed its previously announced purchase of Guardant Health AMEA, a joint venture between the US liquid biopsy firm and global investment firm SoftBank, which launched initially in 2018.
Under the terms of the parties’ joint venture agreement, Guardant Health paid approximately $177.8 million to acquire the remaining shares held by SoftBank and its affiliates. The company now has full control over operations throughout the Asia, Middle East, and Africa region.
"By acquiring the remaining shares of Guardant Health AMEA, we can focus on creating a unified and centralized global organization that delivers on our promise to help conquer cancer and improve patient outcomes," Guardant Chairman and co-CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said in a statement. "We believe our blood-based tests can play a significant role in helping address the growing incidence of cancer in the region, and we look forward to continuing to support patients facing cancer diagnoses as we expand our operations in these markets."
Guardant Health AMEA operations currently support 41 countries across the region. Near term, Guardant said it will prioritize bringing blood-based testing to healthcare providers and to patients with advanced cancer in Japan, where the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare recently approved the firm's Guardant360 CDx test.