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PDI to Sell Commercial Services Business, Focus on Molecular Diagnostics

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – As part of its effort to focus on its molecular diagnostics business, PDI announced today that it has agreed to sell off its biomedical commercialization and marketing services business to Publicis Group for up to roughly $48 million.

PDI also said it will assume the name of its molecular diagnostics subsidiary, Interpace Diagnostics, and chance its Nasdaq trading symbol to IDXG. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

"Our board of directors believes that this transaction is in the best interest of our clients, our employees, and our stockholders," PDI President and CEO Nancy Lurker said in a statement. Our agreement with Publicis … is a win-win situation for both companies and maximizes the value of our CSO business for our stockholders."

Under the terms of the arrangement, PDI will receive an initial cash payment of around $33 million, $7 million of which is contingent on securing commitments from certain of the commercial service business' clients. PDI also stands to receive a payout estimated to be between $5 million and $15 million based on the business' 2016 revenues. 

PDI said that it would use the proceeds of the sale to pay off debt, strengthen its balance sheet and focus on its growing molecular diagnostics operations, which includes the ThyGenX genetic mutation panel and its soon-to-be-launched ThyraMir microRNA expression classifier, both of which are designed to detect thyroid cancer.

About a year ago, PDI also acquired molecular diagnostics firm RedPath Integrated Pathology and its Pathfinder TG test for determining cancer risk in pancreatic cysts.

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