Roche To Buy GenMark For 1.8B To Add Testing Facilities

Roche announced on Monday, March 15, a deal to buy GenMark Diagnostics for roughly US$1.8 billion the latest in a wave of M&A in the sector.

The deal, expected to be completed during the second quarter, will give the Swiss company access to GenMark’s novel technology for testing a broad range of pathogens with one patient sample. Analysts said they did not expect any antitrust issues.

GenMark, whose competitors include BioFire, Luminex, and Qiagen, sells proprietary multiplex technology that Roche sees as a complement to its diagnostic portfolio and “addressing a broad range of infectious disease testing.” William Blair analysts said on Monday they expect a “massive wave” of consolidation across small- and mid-cap life sciences companies in coming quarters with “some potentially intense bidding wars.” 

Roche’s deal to buy GenMark is the latest in a sector off to a busy dealmaking start in 2021, boosted by the COVID-19 testing boom. Thermo Fisher Scientific announced in January that it plans to purchase point-of-care molecular diagnostics firm Mesa Biotech for US$450 million. That same month, PerkinElmer said it will acquire Oxford Immunotec for about US$591 million.

“By our count, there are no less than 15 companies that will be competing for assets across infectious disease, point-of-care diagnostics, precision oncology, and tools. With this many companies, all flush with cash from sales of products related to COVID-19 or through capital offerings in 2020, we would expect some potentially intense bidding wars for a growing pool of assets, both public and private,” the analysts wrote.

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