NEW YORK ─ Nightingale Health of Finland on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Finnish genetic testing and analysis company Negen for an undisclosed amount.
Helsinki-based Nightingale said that the acquisition, expected to close this month, will allow it to combine its metabolite-based blood test with genomic data to improve early disease risk detection.
By purchasing Negen, also based in Helsinki, Nightingale said it is acquiring core functionality in direct-to-consumer DNA testing, a genomic data processing pipeline, and polygenic risk algorithms for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases.
Nightingale's test, part of its preventive health platform, measures more than 200 metabolites from a blood sample taken by a professional or at home via a finger prick. The blood test has regulatory approvals that enable its use in healthcare settings in Europe and Japan, the firm said.
Negen, an early-stage company founded in 2015, provides genetic tests through healthcare partners and directly to consumers. The company has partnerships with several private healthcare providers in Finland, Nightingale said.
Negen has had annual revenues around €50,000 ($57,000) to €150,000. At the time the acquisition agreement was signed, Negen had approximately €5,000 in cash, total liabilities of approximately €100,000, and annual operating costs of approximately €100,000.
Nightingale said it believes the transaction will have a positive impact on its revenues in the long term. One of Negen's founders will remain with the firm after the transaction to support the integration of Negen's technology into Nightingale's platform, with the launch of the first products planned for the second half of this year.
Nightingale said it is also launching an international excellence center to develop machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to further expand its integrated preventive health products.