bioMérieux Acquires Norwegian Immunoassay Start-Up SpinChip Diagnostics

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 14 Jan 2025

Image: The game-changing immunoassay diagnostics platform delivers results from whole blood sample in 10 minutes (Photo courtesy of SpinChip)

bioMérieux (Marcy l’Étoile, France) has agreed to acquire SpinChip Diagnostics (Oslo, Norway), the developer of a game-changing immunoassay diagnostics platform. The small benchtop analyzer is well adapted to near patient testing as it can deliver a result from a whole blood sample within 10 minutes with the same high-sensitivity performance as the laboratory instruments.

Since its founding in 2012, SpinChip has developed a revolutionary in vitro diagnostics platform capable of rapidly conducting a wide range of tests across therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, inflammatory/sepsis, and infectious and endocrine diseases. SpinChip’s technology aims to enhance diagnostic efficiency for patients and physicians while reducing healthcare costs. Since March 2024, bioMérieux has held a minority stake in SpinChip which is initially developing lab-quality tests to address indications that are common in acute care settings. SpinChip is particularly focusing on myocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current diagnostic methods based on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays have significantly improved the accuracy of MI diagnosis but are still lacking fast turnaround times due to sample transportation and processing time. This often leads to prolonged emergency department stays and increased healthcare costs due to delays in diagnosis. The SpinChip platform delivers highly accurate diagnostic results for detecting MI. Capable of producing results comparable to state-of-the-art laboratory diagnostic machines within minutes and near the patient, the platform is particularly suited for emergency departments and urgent care units.

SpinChip is initially focusing on well-established and utilized cardiac markers like high-sensitive troponin I (hs-TnI), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and D-Dimer and will expand testing to other clinical areas important in acute care settings. SpinChip’s high-sensitive troponin MI assay has already demonstrated strong results in a retrospective clinical study. The assay is now undergoing additional national and international trials, including a large multicenter European clinical study. SpinChip expects to lodge an application for CE marking under the IVDR before the end of 2025 and launch the MI assay during H1 2026. Under bioMérieux’s ownership, the platform and additional immunoassays in acute care, focusing on sepsis and other cardiovascular biomarkers, will be developed.

“bioMérieux firmly believes in the importance of point of care (“POC”) diagnostics, which bring the power of testing closer to the patient, positively impacting patient care and reducing overall healthcare costs,” said Dr. Charles K. Cooper, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at bioMérieux. “The SpinChip solution is a game changer, combining the best of both worlds: the ease of use and fast time-to-result of POC systems with the precision and performance of high-sensitivity lab assays. Allowing physicians to make an accurate and rapid diagnosis is crucial for patients with myocardial infarctions.”

“Over the past 10 years, SpinChip has developed a game-changing immunoassay POC platform with the ambition to significantly improve patient outcomes, reduce costs in Emergency Departments and across the healthcare industry,” added Morten Jurs, Chief Executive Officer of SpinChip. “Having collaborated closely with bioMérieux over the last nine months, we are close to fulfilling our mission to be a contributor to better and more efficient diagnoses. We believe that under the ownership of bioMérieux, our platform can be optimally developed to reach the market and most importantly, the patients.”

“The acquisition of SpinChip is very promising for bioMérieux and fully consistent with our GO•28 strategic plan agenda,” said Pierre Boulud, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux. “We already serve the point-of-care market with BIOFIRE® SPOTFIRE®, a best-in-class molecular biology system. With SpinChip’s disruptive technology, we will complement our offer and strengthen our presence in the point-of-care segment. This acquisition will also allow to leverage the unique R&D and manufacturing bioMérieux capabilities in the field of immunoassays that we have built with VIDAS®. SpinChip will pave the way for bioMérieux growth beyond 2028, sustaining our mission to improve patient outcomes worldwide.”

Related Links:
bioMérieux
SpinChip Diagnostics