Source: © AlexRaths/iStock
Source: © AlexRaths/iStock

Rosetta Genomics said today it has agreed to acquire CynoGen, which does business as PersonalizeDx, from Prelude, in a purchase that expands the buyer’s presence and product offerings in oncology diagnostics.

The acquisition will also create a combined pipeline for Rosetta Genomics that is set to introduce to market five new assays within the next 12 months. One of them is a thyroid neoplasia assay scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2015.

Those tests will join Rosetta Genomics offerings that now include the Rosetta Cancer Origin Test™, the Rosetta Lung Cancer Test™, and the Rosetta Kidney Cancer Test™—as well as the Rosetta Genomics PGxOne™ test, and EGFR and KRAS sequencing services for Admera Health.

PresonalizeDx provides molecular diagnostics and services that include tests in prostate, bladder, and lung cancer.

Rosetta Genomics said the deal will create “multiple areas of product synergies” with PersonalizeDx, notably in urologic and lung cancers. The combined company plans to add PersonalizeDx Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH) and molecular markers for actionable genomic targets to a recently created combination of Rosetta’s Lung Cancer Test and Admera Health’s genomic markers for targeted therapies.

In addition to the tests, Rosetta Genomics said, the acquisition will give the company commercial and laboratory operations capabilities, and a high-complexity CLIA laboratory in Lake Forest, CA.

“The PersonalizeDx business is an excellent strategic and cultural fit, and we look forward to combining their assays and biomarkers with our current and future microRNA-based and other assays,” Kenneth A. Berlin, Rosetta Genomics’ president and CEO, said in a statement.

The combined company is projected to generate revenues this year ranging from $10 million and $12 million, rising to $18 million in 2016. The following year, Rosetta Genetics expects to rack up positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and positive cash flow from operations.

Rosetta Genomics agreed to pay $2 million in cash, 500,000 ordinary shares of company stock—valued at the close of trading today at $1.65 million, based on a $3.30 per share closing price, up 12% from yesterday. Rosetta also agreed to shell out undisclosed “specified assets” and certain services to be provided to Prelude. In return, Rosetta Genomics said, it will gain marketing rights to Prelude’s assay for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

The deal is set to close “in the next several weeks,” Rosetta Genomics said, and is tied to Prelude purchasing PersonalizedDx from another entity. Prelude is one of 10 companies in the portfolio of tech accelerator Fjord Ventures.

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