BETHLEHEM, Pa., Jan. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point of care diagnostic tests and specimen collection and stabilization devices, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two companies. The transactions are expected to close within the next week. OraSure also reaffirmed its fourth quarter 2018 financial guidance.
“These acquisitions clearly demonstrate our commitment to our innovation-driven growth strategy,” said Dr. Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., President and CEO of OraSure Technologies. “The acquisitions of Novosanis and CoreBiome, both innovators in their respective markets, add differentiated products and services that we expect will enhance our Molecular business, our longer-term corporate growth profile, and returns for our stockholders. Both transactions will leverage the sales and marketing resources of our wholly-owned subsidiary DNA Genotek to cultivate commercial customers, key opinion leaders and academic collaborators.”
CoreBiome
CoreBiome is a privately-held, Minnesota-based early-stage microbiome services provider that accelerates discovery for customers in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and research communities. CoreBiome’s technology provides information-rich characterization of microbial diversity and function, paired with machine learning and expert analytics. CoreBiome’s proprietary genomics pipeline and optimal algorithms deliver speed and scalability in the lab as well as highly precise analytics. CoreBiome was co-founded in 2016 by Dr. Dan Knights, a globally recognized expert in microbiome informatics who has developed leading methods for analyzing microbiome data, along with Dr. Daryl Gohl and Dr. Kenny Beckman, domain experts in genomics methods and clinical lab operations.
“The global microbiome market is expected to grow by double digits, from approximately $325 million in 2017 to $725 million or more in 2022,” said Dr. Tang. “Expanding our services through the CoreBiome acquisition will allow OraSure to optimally address future microbiome research needs, capture new segments and expand our leadership position in this dynamic market.”
“The microbiome is transforming how people do research in human health and agriculture. Companies are increasingly looking to understand how the complex behavior of the microbiome affects their product development, and this requires big data,” said Dr. Knights, CEO of CoreBiome. “CoreBiome’s highly scalable and reproducible BoosterShot™ platform allows researchers to efficiently run high-resolution DNA sequencing on thousands of microbiome samples. This means investigators can now measure important changes often missed in under-powered studies. CoreBiome’s bioinformatics platform uses machine learning and advanced data visualization to help customers leverage that big data and to make world-class microbiome expertise available on-demand.”
The CoreBiome acquisition positions OraSure to become a leading, end-to-end solution provider for researchers, therapeutic and diagnostic development customers, and Direct-to-Consumer companies,” said Dr. Tang. “We look forward to accelerating the adoption of CoreBiome’s cutting-edge microbial genomics technology and analytics expertise into DNA Genotek’s customer network. We’re excited about the synergies that will come from combining DNA Genotek’s proprietary sampling and stabilization technology with CoreBiome’s platform across the many industries that will be impacted by the microbiome.”
Novosanis
Novosanis is a privately-held, Belgian company founded as a spinoff company from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2013. Novosanis is an early commercial-stage producer and distributor of urine sample collection devices targeted primarily at the liquid biopsy, Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) screening, and urological cancer markets.
Novosanis’ primary product technology is Colli-Pee, an easy-to-use device designed for the standardized collection of first-void urine in the privacy of the user’s home or at a clinic. The initial commercial application is as a collection device for liquid biopsy tests in the prostate and bladder cancer markets. Additionally, product validation and clinical trials are underway with industry-leading STI test manufacturers. Colli-Pee is the only product specifically designed to collect a first-void sample and offers significant advantages to urinary testing companies, including superior test performance, ease-of-use for both collection and in the lab, and flexible customization options based on specific need.
“The Novosanis acquisition represents a clear fit in our stated ‘core growth strategy’ for our Molecular business – to grow our portfolio of collection products beyond oral samples by leveraging expertise in collection and stabilization tools and technologies – all of which can be used at home or in the clinic,” said Dr. Tang. “The Colli-Pee urine collection device has utility in high-growth markets, including liquid biopsy and STI diagnostics where OraSure can leverage its existing intellectual property, brand, and market expertise to deliver even more value to existing, and new, Molecular customers.”
Dr. Tang continued: “We believe there is a significant opportunity for an easy-to-use, differentiated product that combines our existing stabilization technology with Novosanis’ first-void sample and volumetric capabilities. The Colli-Pee product is the perfect answer for this unmet market need. DNA Genotek built its business on establishing DNA from saliva as a proven and trusted sample type for molecular analysis. We believe a key enabler for similar development of the urine market will be an improved collection experience with Colli-Pee, combined with ambient temperature stabilization of the sample.”
Dr. Vanessa Vankerckhoven, co-founder and CEO of Novosanis, added, “The Novosanis team is excited to become part of the OraSure family. The Colli-Pee device is complementary to OraSure’s existing portfolio of non-invasive sample collection devices. The acquisition will allow us to ensure further growth and expansion of our Colli-Pee device globally.”
“With our growing customer base, we’ve been rapidly expanding our manufacturing capacity in recent months,” Koen Beyers, Novosanis co-founder and Chief Technology Officer explained. “I’m looking forward to building scale and diversity of our innovation with OraSure and DNA Genotek.”
CoreBiome and Novosanis Acquisitions – Financial Considerations
The transactions are structured with an upfront payment and potential additional payments based on future performance. The Company expects that the acquisitions will together contribute from $4 million to $7 million in net revenues in 2019, with $0.03 to $0.05 per share of dilution to non-GAAP earnings excluding transaction costs and required acquisition accounting adjustments.
Fourth Quarter 2018 Guidance
The Company continues to expect net revenue to range from $46.5 million to $48.0 million – representing full year revenue growth of 7% over 2017 – and net income of $0.09 to $0.11 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2018.
About OraSure Technologies
OraSure Technologies is a leader in the development, manufacture and distribution of point-of-care diagnostic and collection devices and other technologies designed to detect or diagnose critical medical conditions. Its first-to-market, innovative products include rapid tests for the detection of antibodies to HIV and HCV on the OraQuick® platform, oral fluid sample collection, stabilization and preparation products for molecular diagnostic applications, and oral fluid laboratory tests for detecting various drugs of abuse. OraSure’s portfolio of products is sold globally to various clinical laboratories, hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations and other public health organizations, research and academic institutions, distributors, government agencies, physicians’ offices, commercial and industrial entities and consumers. The Company’s products enable healthcare providers to deliver critical information to patients, empowering them to make decisions to improve and protect their health.
