A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Fisher Scientific International (Hampton, New Hampshire) has reported two deals that it said will "significantly enhance" its capabilities in molecular diagnostics.

Fisher has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Athena Diagnostics (Worcester, Massachusetts), a developer of molecular diagnostic and immunodiagnostic tests and services, from Behrman Capital for $283 million in cash. Athena has a portfolio of neurologic, nephrologic and endocrine diagnostic tests targeting such diseases as neurogenetic and neuromuscular disorders, as well as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, obesity, kidney disease and diabetes. The company had 2005 net revenues of $55 million.

"The acquisition of Athena Diagnostics is consistent with our strategy to expand our offering of high-value, high-margin products and services in growing markets," said Paul Montrone, chairman and CEO of Fisher. "Building on our extensive suite of life-science and diagnostic products, Athena provides Fisher with a deep portfolio of genetic and other markers as well as tests to identify those markers."

The company said the Athena buy would make it a technology leader in providing personalized, gene-based tests and sophisticated tools and services for molecular biology. Fisher will fund the acquisition with cash on hand. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close early in 2Q06. Fisher said it expects the acquisitions will have no effect on its 2006 earnings per share and will be slightly accretive to cash earnings per share.

Simultaneous with its acquisition of Athena, Fisher said it also has entered into an agreement to purchase 9% of Nanogen (San Diego) for $15 million in cash. Nanogen is a provider of advanced molecular diagnostic equipment, microarrays and reagents for diagnostic applications. Fisher and Nanogen will collaborate to expand the use of Athena's markers and tests.

Howard Birndorf, CEO and chairman of Nanogen, said that Fisher "shares our vision of developing diagnostic technologies and products for personalized medicine. This is yet another indication that molecular diagnostics for personalized healthcare is gaining momentum and being adopted by mainstream diagnostic laboratories."

In other dealmaking news:

• Tm Bioscience (Toronto), a developer of commercial genetic tests, said it has signed an agreement with Sirius Genomics (Vancouver, British Columbia) for an exclusive commercial license to patents from Sirius for specific biomarkers related to drugs used to treat severe sepsis including vasopressin.

Tm will provide an up-front payment of $4 million, which will be provided to Sirius in two equal installments in the second and third quarters of 2006. These payments will be repaid from net earnings on sales of the severe sepsis test, with remaining earnings shared equally between Sirius and Tm over the term of the agreement.

Tm said it would incorporate these markers into a test for use by critical care physicians that it expects to launch in the second half of 2007.

"Sepsis is a critical healthcare issue. One out of every three patients who develop severe sepsis will die within a month. There are limited treatments for severe sepsis," said Greg Hines, president and CEO of Tm. "By applying the genetic discoveries made by Sirius Genomics, we hope to develop an innovative genetic test that could be used to identify patients who are more likely to respond well to the two main drugs used to treat severe sepsis. Such tests could help save lives."

The agreement covers a series of possible mutations that can occur in the genes associated with two proteins, protein C and arginine vasopressin.

• InSight Health (Lake Forest, California), a national provider of diagnostic imaging services, reported the completion of its acquisition of East Bay Medical Imaging (EBMI; San Ramon, California).

EBMI specializes in the provision of diagnostic imaging services, specifically MRI.

In connection with the acquisition, InSight has partnered with radiologists Geoffrey Riley, MD, and Hank Chen, MD. Riley and Chen will serve as radiologists for the EBMI center. Additionally, they will also serve as radiologists for InSight's Advanced MRI of Pleasanton (Pleasanton, California) center, effective June 1.

InSight operates eight additional imaging centers in Northern California, including centers in Fremont, Hayward, Los Gatos, Redwood City, Sacramento and San Francisco.

The East Bay Medical Imaging center services patients in several communities throughout the East Bay including: San Ramon, Danville, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Concord, Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin.

• American Esoteric Laboratories (AEL; Memphis, Tennessee), a provider of esoteric and other clinical reference laboratory services, reported acquiring Physicians Medical Laboratory (PML; Morristown, Tennessee). Terms were not disclosed.

With its expansion into the Nashville market, AEL said it will further expand into Eastern Tennessee and the surrounding areas.