Cancer research technology company Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation acquired US-based clinical diagnostics technology developer Sequenta yesterday, providing an exit to pharmaceutical firm Celgene.
Although the purchase price for Sequenta has not been disclosed, Puget Sound Business Journal reported that Adaptive recently raised $94m in private equity to fund the transaction.
Celgene invested an undisclosed amount in Sequenta in October 2014, after Sequenta had raised $43.5m from investors including Index Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Foresite Capital, according to press releases and regulatory filings.
Founded in 2008, Sequenta has developed an immunosequencing-based diagnostic test to detect and monitor blood cancers. The combined company intends to focus on commercialising its technology to detect minimal residual disease in those cancers.
Adaptive CEO Chad Robins said: “Our mission is to change the course of medicine through sequencing a patient’s adaptive immune system. Over the past few months it has become increasingly clear that joining forces with Sequenta would accelerate our ability to make the promise of immunosequencing a reality for physicians and patients.
“By combining our resources, we can increase the number of clinical trials we are able to run to validate clinical applications of immunosequencing, and explore new and innovative research and development initiatives that neither of us would have been able to do alone.”