Lab21 acquires molecular diagnostics company Myconostica Ltd

www.lab21.comMay 23 2011

Lab21 Limited, the global specialist in personalised medicine and clinical diagnostics has today announced that it has acquired Myconostica Ltd, a molecular diagnostic company focussing on the diagnosis of fungal infections of clinical importance.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition of Myconostica expands Lab21’s growing proprietary diagnostic portfolio and will provide the Company’s first set of nucleic acid-based assays. Furthermore it will provide manufacturing capabilities for Lab21 from which it will develop and produce its range of new biomarker assays.

There is a major unmet market need for diagnosis of life threatening invasive fungal disease and the Myconostica products are leaders in this market. Current fungal diagnostic tests based on culturing techniques have significant clinical limitations and Myconostica’s molecular diagnostic approach provides more rapid, sensitive and specific information which will improve clinical outcomes. In addition to developing global sales of Myconostica products, Lab21 will also be launching the Myconostica fungal testing services from its new reference laboratory in South Carolina as well as its laboratory in Cambridge, UK.

Graham Mullis, CEO of Lab21, commented: “We are delighted that we have acquired Myconostica.  The company’s products complement our infectious diseases portfolio and help position the Company in a large market where there are significant clinical challenges”.

This transaction further validates Lab21’s growing position as a key diagnostic player adding new products to its infectious disease portfolio and represents its sixth acquisition over the past two years.

Speaking about the transaction, Professor David Denning of the University Hospital of South Manchester, founder and Chief Medical Officer of Myconostica said: ”We have developed fast and sensitive molecular diagnostics for life threatening fungal infections such as aspergillosis and pneumocystis pneumonia, that will transform patient care for these infections.  Fungal infections are frequently under-diagnosed using current diagnostic methods and are much more common than realised.  The global reach of Lab21’s operations will extend the availability of Myconostica’s products to many more clinicians. I look forward to working with Lab21 to further develop the evidence base demonstrating the great clinical value of molecular testing for fungi, as is routine for viruses.”

Myconostica has three CE-marked products on the market in Europe, Canada and Southern Africa which were launched in 2010, capable of running on a wide range of testing platforms.  These include a product for extracting fungal DNA from human samples and tests for the detection of Aspergillus and Pneumocystis jirovecii.

The global market for fast and reliable invasive fungal infection diagnosis is substantial, with more than 10 million patients each year at risk of life threatening fungal infections and reducing the time to treatment and higher sensitivity to detect cases will save lives.