Molecular Diagnostics Company Myconostica Acquired by Lab21

Lab21 Ltd. (Cambridge, UK; USA) announced that it has acquired Myconostica Ltd. (Greenville, SC, USA), a molecular diagnostic company focusing on the diagnosis of fungal infections of clinical importance. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Myconostica acquisition will provide Lab21 with its first set of nucleic acid-based assays. It will also provide manufacturing capabilities for Lab21 from which it will be able to develop and produce a range of new biomarker assays. The transaction adds new diagnostic products to Lab21's infectious disease portfolio and represents its sixth acquisition over the past two years.

In addition to developing global sales of Myconostica products, Lab21 will be launching the Myconostica fungal testing services from its new reference laboratory in South Carolina (USA) as well as its laboratory in Cambridge, UK.

Speaking about the transaction, Professor David Denning of the University Hospital of South Manchester (United Kingdom) CMO of Myconostica said, "We have developed fast and sensitive molecular diagnostics for life threatening fungal infections such as aspergillosis and pneumocystis pneumonia that will transform patient care for these infections. Fungal infections are frequently under-diagnosed using current diagnostic methods and are much more common than realized."

A UK-based medical diagnostic company, Myconostica Ltd. is a spinout from the University of Manchester. Traditional methods of the detection of fungal infections are relatively insensitive and slow.

Myconostica is developing and commercializing a portfolio of real-time molecular diagnostic tests for life-threatening fungal infections. Over 10 million people are at risk of these infections each year in Europe and North America alone. Aspergillosis affects leukemia, transplant, and corticosteroid-treated patients, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pneumocystis affects human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and AIDS patients as well as many others with suboptimal immune symptoms.

Myconostica has three CE-marked products on the market in Europe, Canada, and Southern Africa, launched in 2010, capable of running on a wide range of testing platforms. These include a product for extracting fungal DNA from human samples and tests for the detection of Aspergillus and Pneumocystis jirove.

The global market for fast and reliable invasive fungal infection diagnosis is substantial, with more than 10 million patients each year at risk of life threatening fungal infections.

Related Links:
Lab21 Ltd.
Myconostica Ltd.