News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel
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Attention Pathologists! New Prostate Cancer Test Has CPT Code, NCCN Guideline Recommendation, and Potential Market of One Million Prostate Biopsies Annually

Jan 22, 2016 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

OPKO Health’s 4Kscore test predicts the rate of high-risk prostate cancer and may become a useful business case study for other labs developing proprietary diagnostic tests

Clinical laboratories and biotech companies with new medical laboratory tests are struggling to win coverage by Medicare and private payers. How big is this problem? There are currently tens of thousands of molecular diagnostic assays and genetic tests offered for clinical use.

Any lab company seeking to obtain an appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, favorable coverage guidelines, and adequate reimbursement from health insurers for its new lab test faces three big challenges, and they are related. First, payers are simply overwhelmed with requests to review new genetic tests. The flood of new test submissions exceeds the capability of payers to respond.

Most Payers May Not Have Right Scientific Expertise to Evaluate Genetic Tests

Second, most health insurance plans lack physicians and medical professionals who have the necessary experience in laboratory medicine, molecular diagnostics, and genetic medicine to evaluate these lab test submissions in a knowledgeable way. (more…)

For Second Time in Three Years, OPKO Health Will Acquire a Clinical Laboratory Company by Spending $1.47 Billion to Acquire Bio-Reference Laboratories

Jun 8, 2015 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

When completed, this acquisition means that the third largest public lab company in the United States will be owned by a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics firm

It’s a big medical laboratory acquisition that has some experts on Wall Street shaking their heads. Last Thursday, it was announced that OPKO Health Inc. of Miami, Florida, would pay $1.47 billion to acquire Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: BRLI), the nation’s third largest full-service clinical laboratory. OPKO (NYSE: OPK) is a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company in Miami, Florida.

No cash is involved in this purchase. OPKO will pay for the acquisition by exchanging 2.75 shares of OPKO common stock for each share of BRLI common stock. The deal puts a value of BRLI’s common stock of $52.58 per share, the companies announced.

The boards of directors of both companies have already approved the deal, which should close in the second half of the year.
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