Sep 15, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Price of 2.5 times revenue makes this a high price for a clinical laboratory
Monday, Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE: LH) agreed to purchase Genzyme Genetics Corp’s. (NASDAQ: GENZ) fetal genetics and oncology testing division for $925 million in cash. Genzyme has shopped its neo-natal genetic testing business since last year.
LabCorp is paying a purchase price that is 2.5 times Genzyme’s $371 million in annual revenue. This is one of the highest prices paid for a clinical pathology laboratory company since Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), paid about 2.5 times revenue for Ameripath, Inc. in March 2007. In that transaction, Quest Diagnostics paid about $2 billion for Ameripath, which had annual revenues approaching $800 million at the time of sale.
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Sep 14, 2010 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Industrial engineering firm issues “Consumer Report”-type assessment of mid-volume, automated IA and ID analyzer systems
It’s not often that pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can access a Consumer Reports-type of comparison of laboratory analyzers as they prepare to purchase new diagnostic systems. In the case of mid-volume analyzers for immunoassy (IA) and infectious disease (ID) testing, such a report is now available—and it is immediately available on the Web.
The report is titled “Using Quality Management Methods to Compare Competing Mid-Volume Segment Immunoassay Systems that Perform Infectious Disease Testing.” This report can be immediately downloaded and viewed by visiting the darkdaily.com web site.
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Sep 9, 2010 | Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Special clinical laboratory manager training to take place in four cities this fall
Predictions are that clinical laboratories and pathology groups across the nation will face a growing and serious shortage of skilled managers during the next 24 months. There are two primary reasons why this acute shortage of capable lab managers is soon to develop.
First, the oldest baby boomers turn 65 in January and the long-awaited wave of retirements will begin. This means the most experienced staff members in the medical laboratory—managers at the bench level, the section, and the department—will vacate those positions of responsibility. As these managers depart, the lab loses their decades of experience, along with their invaluable organizational knowledge.
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Sep 8, 2010 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Advanced histology staining equipment will capture a greater market share
There’s good news for anatomic pathologists in the forecast from one expert watching the U.S. market in equipment for clinical diagnostics. According to Winny Tan, Ph.D, a Senior Analyst with Frost & Sullivan, the increasing rate of cancer incidence in the U.S. will drive robust growth in tissue-based diagnostics.
She predicts that revenues from that segment will more than double by 2016, growing from the $1.029 billion in 2009 to $2.278 billion in 2016. Tan made her predictions in an article in the May 15, 2010 issue of Genetic Engineering News.
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Sep 3, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Meanwhile, both Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp report second quarter declines in specimen volume
Fewer patients visiting physician offices during second quarter 2010 is considered to be one reason why specimen volume declined at clinical pathology laboratory testing giants Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) and Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE: LH) during that three-month period.
For second quarter, LabCorp reported a 2% decline in specimen volume, along with a 4.2% increase in revenue. At Quest Diagnostics, the specimen volume decline was 1.3% and revenues declined by 1.4% in the second quarter 2010, compared to second quarter 2009.
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