Labcorp to buy medical diagnostics company, proprietary prostate cancer test in $872M deal

Medical diagnostics company Labcorp is making a major buy of laboratory testing businesses from Opko Health, in a deal worth a potential $872 million. The company said the buyout is expected to generate $250 million in its first year alone.

According to an announcement released Thursday, Labcorp will take control of BioReference Health, a subsidiary of Opko focused on clinical diagnostics, particularly related to women’s health, urology and prostate cancer. As part of the transaction, North Carolina-based Labcorp will also take control of 80 patient service centers, currently operated by BioReference.

When complete, the transaction will expand Labcorp’s existing network of patient service centers with the company saying it will lead to more comprehensive lab testing, including new broad specialty testing options made possible by the addition of BioReference’s proprietary testing technology, including its 4Kscore Test, which is also being purchased as part of the deal.

"This acquisition strengthens our ability to deliver affordable, high-quality, specialized diagnostic services to more patients and providers around the country," Bryan Vaughn, president of diagnostics at Labcorp, said in a statement. "By expanding our clinical, women's health, urology and corrections testing capabilities and broadening access to innovative diagnostics such as the FDA-approved 4Kscore Test, we can help providers make more informed decisions, improve patient care and increase access to the comprehensive laboratory services people need to live healthier lives.”

The 4Kscore Test is a blood analysis approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, found to be able to predict the likelihood of a patient suffering from aggressive prostate cancer, before a biopsy is even conducted.

Labcorp said its acquisition will make the test more widely available to men across the U.S., aiding providers in the early diagnosis and treatment of the illness.

The company added that existing testing technology will benefit from Labcorp’s detailed diagnostic datasets and analytics tools, which complement the offerings of BioReference.

In turn, Phillip Frost, MD, CEO of Opko, said by selling BioReference and the patient service centers, the Florida-based medical testing group will be well positioned to “streamline operations and focus our resources on our biopharmaceutical business.”

"Labcorp's national scale and capabilities will broaden patient and provider access to BioReference's 4Kscore Test to many more patients across the country,” Frost added. “We believe this transaction is an important catalyst to further unlock additional value for our shareholders.”