PerkinElmer Acquires Vanadis Diagnostics, AB
Gains Innovative NIPT Solution in Development to Expand Maternal
Fetal Health Portfolio
WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PerkinElmer,
Inc., a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of
people and the environment, today announced that it has completed the
acquisition of Vanadis
Diagnostics, AB. Based in Sweden, Vanadis is developing a novel
solution for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) based on digital
analysis of cell-free DNA.
The acquisition is anticipated to build upon PerkinElmer’s maternal
fetal health offerings, which provide customers a full portfolio of
traditional serum screening solutions. The Vanadis platform will enable
PerkinElmer to offer a simplified, cost-effective, high-throughput
approach to NIPT to help facilitate wider access for pregnant women.
Many traditional biochemistry prenatal testing labs have encountered
challenges in successfully implementing NIPT due to the complexity of
the tests. This has led to limited acceptance of the existing NIPT
technology, which has been adopted mainly by genetic laboratories. The
Vanadis offering is based on digital DNA analysis and is designed to
provide automated testing for routine use by high-throughput
biochemistry labs as well as genetic labs.
“While NIPT is becoming increasingly recognized as valuable to many
high-risk expectant parents during the first trimester, test complexity
and pricing issues have limited the ability of many biochemistry labs to
effectively offer this type of prenatal screening,” said Prahlad Singh,
President, Diagnostics, PerkinElmer. “High capital investment, advanced
molecular skills, and complex data handling for lab staff, along with
the difficulty of integrating these systems into the existing screening
infrastructure, have been barriers to more widespread adoption of NIPT.
Vanadis’ simplified NIPT platform, once available, should help overcome
these obstacles, giving labs a wider range of prenatal testing
capabilities and providing important information to physicians and
patients.”
Adding Vanadis’ capabilities to PerkinElmer’s extensive diagnostics
portfolio is intended to contribute to better health outcomes through
improved detection of fetal chromosomal abnormalities. PerkinElmer’s
diagnostic offerings include: prenatal, neonatal and infectious disease
screening, along with molecular diagnostics solutions, through its wide
range of instruments, reagents and assay platforms, and software. The
Company also provides private cord blood and cord tissue preservation to
families through ViaCord LLC.
“We founded Vanadis with the mission to make NIPT available to all
women, and we developed this technology to fundamentally change the cost
structure and workflow for NIPT,” said Olle Ericsson, CEO, Vanadis
Diagnostics. “We are confident that with its leading position in
prenatal screening, PerkinElmer is best situated to bring this system to
market and address the under-served segment of average-risk pregnancies.”
About PerkinElmer, Inc.
PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global leader
focused on improving the health and safety of people and the
environment. The Company reported revenue of approximately $2.2 billion
in 2014, has approximately 8,000 employees serving customers in more
than 150 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional
information is available through 1-877-PKI-NYSE, or at www.perkinelmer.com.
Factors Affecting Future Performance
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contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to,
statements relating to estimates and projections of future earnings per
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factors include, without limitation: (1) markets into which we sell our
products declining or not growing as anticipated; (2) fluctuations in
the global economic and political environments; (3) our failure to
introduce new products in a timely manner; (4) our ability to execute
acquisitions and license technologies, or to successfully integrate
acquired businesses and licensed technologies into our existing business
or to make them profitable, or successfully divest businesses; (5) our
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effectively; (8) fluctuation in our quarterly operating results and our
ability to adjust our operations to address unexpected changes; (9)
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disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking
statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this
press release.
Contacts
Investor Relations:
Tommy J. Thomas, 781-663-5889
tommy.thomas@perkinelmer.com
or
Media:
Brian
Willinsky, 781-663-5728
brian.willinsky@perkinelmer.com
