NEW YORK – Singaporean firms Inex Innovations and Exchange and Nova Satra Dx this week announced their merger and decision to focus on offering diagnostic testing and precision healthcare to Asian women.
The new company, called Inex Innovate, aims by next year to introduce new tests for ovarian cancer and breast cancer in Asian women. The deal is valued at $72 million and is backed by investors including Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based Genting, as well as Enterprise Singapore and SNS Holdings, both based in Singapore.
Kane Black, CEO of Nova Satra, has assumed the role of CEO of Inex Innovate. He said in a statement that the new firm aims to "empower Asian women in the management of their own health through improved access to rapid, accurate diagnosis and technologies."
Sidney Yee, cofounder and director Inex, added that the new company has "a deep understanding of Asian demographics and a unique offering of both diagnostic products and care delivery services."
Inex was founded in 2006 and offers a variety of tests for women's and fetal health, including a noninvasive prenatal test via its iGene Laboratory, which it established in 2014. Nova Satra is developing cancer tests for women, including NovoTect Bc, which stratifies breast cancer patients according to an epigenetic signature. In 2017, Oxford Biodynamics licensed its EpiSwitch technology to the firm for use in the test.
The company said it is active in multiple markets across Asia and has recently expanded into new ones such as Indonesia and Bangladesh. Tests in development include OvaCis, a point-of-care test to distinguish benign from malignant ovarian cysts; Zena, a blood-based test for early detection of ovarian cancer; and NovoTect Bc. Inex Innovate said it would commercialize all three tests in 2020.