NEW YORK – Roche announced last week that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain point-of-care technologies from LumiraDx for $295 million, with an additional payment of up to $55 million to fund the business until the transaction closes. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2024, and the technology will then be fully integrated into Roche Diagnostics.
The LumiraDx technology platform to be acquired includes a range of immunoassay and clinical chemistry tests, Roche said in a statement.
Roche Diagnostics CEO Matt Sause said that the addition of the LumiraDx tech will enable Roche to transform testing at the point of care. "LumiraDx has developed a highly versatile platform that delivers strong performance across multiple disease areas and technologies," he said, adding, "We believe this will enable better patient access to timely results in decentralized healthcare settings worldwide."
LumiraDx has regulatory clearances for microfluidic immunofluorescence-based point-of-care assays for cardiovascular disease, HbA1c and C-reactive protein, as well as a SARS-CoV-2 and combined SARS-CoV-2 and influenza antigen test. The firm also manufactures nucleic acid amplification tests that run on open RT-qPCR systems and was recently awarded $14.2 million in grant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a point-of-care molecular test for tuberculosis.
LumiraDx went public in 2021, with investment banks Evercore ISI and BTIG subsequently initiating coverage at Outperform and Buy ratings, respectively.
The firm announced in April that it was restructuring and laying off 40 percent of its workforce, and soon after received a delisting warning from the Nasdaq after trading below the $1.00 threshold for 30 consecutive business days. It reported a 53 percent year-over-year decline in revenues in the second quarter of 2023 and has not yet reported its Q3 revenues. According to a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Lumira CEO and Chairman Ron Zwanziger resigned in November, along with Chief Technology Officer and Director David Scott and Chief Scientist and Director Jerry McAleer.