DiaSorin Enters U.S. Molecular and Immunoassay Market

DiaSorin (Saluggia, Italy) and Quest Diagnostics (Madison, NJ, USA) have announced an agreement under which DiaSorin will buy the Focus Diagnostics (Cypress, CA, UYA) immunodiagnostic and molecular diagnostic products business.

As a result of the acquisition, DiaSorin will have access to Focus' product lines, including the Simplexa molecular line, the HerpeSelect HSV serology line, and the DxSelect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assays. This will significantly increase its presence in the growing market of infectious disease molecular testing. DiaSorin will also strengthen its offering in the U.S. market by gaining access to approximately 200 hospitals served today by Focus.

Gaining access to the current Focus customer base in the United States, which consists mainly of large hospitals, will also allow DiaSorin to speed up U.S. market penetration of its LIAISON Immunoassay platform. The company will also leverage its commercial presence worldwide to distribute Focus products in markets in Europe and Asia. Under the terms of the agreement, DiaSorin will pay to Quest Diagnostics USD 300 million in cash for all the tangible and intangible assets of Focus used to develop, manufacture, and distribute its molecular diagnostic products and its traditional immunoassay ELISA products.

"The combination of DiaSorin and Focus products will create a unique portfolio of specialty products, especially in the clinical area of infectious disease, which will continue to strengthen the leadership of DiaSorin in this segment," said Carlo Rosa, CEO of DiaSorin. "Also, this acquisition offers DiaSorin access to a large number of premier US hospitals that are served today by Focus, a market segment that is strategic for DiaSorin to grow in the future by combining the Focus molecular products with its broad LIAISON product line."

"As a leader in diagnostic products, DiaSorin is well positioned to build on the Focus platform of innovation to deliver continuing value to Focus' employees, customers and patients," said Steve Rusckowski, president and CEO of Quest Diagnostics. "We remain committed to delivering disciplined capital deployment, the fifth element of our five-point strategy. We return the majority of our free cash flow to investors in the form of dividends and share repurchases, and also have been investing in the business through strategically aligned acquisitions."

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