Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. signed a $170 million deal to acquire all the outstanding shares of molecular diagnostics subsidiary Curiosity Diagnostics SpZoo from Scope Fluidics SA. The deal consists of approximately $100 million in cash and up to $70 million in future milestone payments. The pre-commercial platform company is the developer of a CE-marked 15-minute point-of-care (POC) rapid PCR system which tests for SARS-CoV-2 virus and methicillin-resistant or-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA/MSSA).

Over the course of the past two years, two presidential administrations and the U.S. Congress have set considerable sums of money aside for testing for the COVID-19 pandemic, but reports of shortages of tests have prompted a response from Capitol Hill.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is continuing a streak of investments in the med-tech space, signing a €20 million (US$22 million) loan agreement with Midiagnostics NV, to scale-up a new rapid COVID-19 PCR test. Leuven, Belgium-based Midiagnostics is developing a rapid PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, which can achieve an accuracy speed 20 times faster than classic PCR machines. A nasopharyngeal swab sample is transferred on a PCR testcard, from which the results are read by a compact reader. Pilot programs for the test began at Brussels Airport this month, with a market launch pegged for Spring 2022.