NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – HTG Molecular this week disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it has entered into a statement of work with Qiagen subsidiary Qiagen Manchester pursuant to a previously announced master assay development, commercialization, and manufacturing agreement. The agreement addresses development work for the initial phase of an expected multi-phase project to develop and commercialize a next-generation sequencing-based companion diagnostic assay to support therapeutic development and commercialization for an undisclosed pharmaceutical partner. Qiagen will pay HTG an amount in the low-single-digit millions of dollars for the initial development work, and will also share in any net profits as determined under the master agreement.
OncoCyte said this week that it will join the Russell 3000 Index, effective after the US market opens on June 26. Inclusion in the index will help expand awareness of OncoCyte and its cancer diagnostics, the company said. Membership in the index, which remains in place for one year and ranks stocks by total market capitalization, means OncoCyte will also be included in the large-cap Russell 1000 Index or small-cap Russell 2000 Index.
MilliporeSigma announced this week that it has expanded its distribution alliance with Public Health England to include the European Bank for induced pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC), a comprehensive iPS cell bank of more than 300 quality-controlled, disease-relevant, patient-derived human iPSC lines. Under the terms of the agreement, MilliporeSigma will distribute the EBiSC Human iPS Cell Bank. The distribution agreement includes all geographies except Japan. Financial details were not disclosed.
Accelerate Diagnostics said this week that in connection with the previously announced public offering of 2,750,000 shares of its common stock that closed May 15, the underwriters have partially exercised their option to purchase an additional 335,484 shares at the public offering price of $28.85 per share, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. That brings the total number of shares of common stock sold in the offering to 3,085,484, resulting in total net proceeds of approximately $82.9 million. The sale of the option shares closed on June 14.
UK medical research charity LifeArc this week announced plans to invest up to £500 million ($639 million) over the next five years in generating, funding, and championing innovations in antimicrobials, neuroscience, personalised oncology, and respiratory medicine. The charity will set up Communities for Impact networks to bring together various partners to drive medical innovation in specific therapeutic and diagnostic areas. LifeArc has also established two new funds for the progression of medical science aworth a combined £30 million over four years. The Philanthropic Fund will provide grants to support academic research funded by other medical research charities and organisations, while the Seed Fund will invest in early stage therapeutics and biological research.
In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on the GenomeWeb site.