Life Technologies Acquires Pinpoint Genomics and Lung Cancer Test

Life Technologies Corporation (Carlsbad, CA, USA) has acquired Pinpoint Genomics, Inc. (Mountain View, CA, USA) and its early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) test that can help doctors identify those early-stage patients at high risk for progression to late-stage disease.

The test was developed in Pinpoint's Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified environment and validated through two independent, blinded retrospective studies involving approximately 1,500 patients. Using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor specimens, the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) lab-developed test (LDT) measures expression of a proprietary 14-gene panel. Results of blinded studies, which demonstrated the test's clinical validity and utility, were published in the medical journal the Lancet on March 3, 2012.

Lung cancer is currently diagnosed and staged by a combination of tumor size, location, and the extent of spread to lymph nodes. The current standard of care for most stage I disease is surgery followed by monitoring, also known as watchful waiting.

"By ordering the Pinpoint test, doctors will be able to identify which patients have a high chance of death after surgery, so they can be aggressive and treat those patients immediately for disease and save lives," said Dr. Jablons, MD, chief of general thoracic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF; San Francisco, CA, USA).

This acquisition by Life Technologies Corporation is indicative of the company's strategy to develop its diagnostic business through internal development, partnerships, and select acquisitions. The company expects that the combination of the Pinpoint transaction, plus the recent acquisition of Navigenics, to be dilutive to Life Technologies’ earnings through 2013, and accretive thereafter.

The company also expects the combination to meet its stated criteria for evaluating smaller acquisitions and therefore to be accretive to the company's overall return on invested capital (ROIC) within three years following the close of the transactions.
Life Technologies possesses platforms that can be leveraged in the development of new diagnostics. The company will offer clinical diagnostic content across the genome, proteome, and transcriptome.


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Life Technologies Corporation
Pinpoint Genomics, Inc.
University of California, San Francisco