NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bio-Reference Laboratories today said that it will consider expanding into pharmacogenomics testing now that it will acquire specialty testing shop GeneDx.
Entering the molecular diagnostics market, including the drug-monitoring space, is one option that is “on the table,” Amar Kamath, marketing director for Bio-Reference’s molecular business, told GenomeWeb News today.
Bio-Reference yesterday said it plans to acquire GeneDx for as much as $17 million. The deal, expected to close “within the next two to three weeks,” will “represent a major new initiative for our company,” Bio-Reference CEO Marc Goodman said in a statement.
Kamath said management from both companies will meet over the next few weeks to “hash out” Bio-Reference’s options once GeneDx is on board, and may by the end of September have a better idea of where the company wants to go in relation to pharmacogenomics.
”We haven’t ruled anything out,” Kamath said. “All options are on the table.”
GeneDx, based in Gaithersburg, Md., uses DNA sequencing technologies to perform genetic tests for a large number of rare disorders. The company markets its services to physicians and patients.
GeneDx generated “just short” of $5 million in revenue in 2005, and receipts this year have grown 35 percent, Bio-Reference said.