Molecular diagnostics equipment provider Myriad Genetics has agreed to acquire US-based precision medicine developer Assurex Health in a deal that will enable Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to exit.
Myriad will pay $225m upfront and could provide up to $185m in performance-based milestones.
Assurex’s lead product, GeneSight Psychotropic, evaluates 12 genes that play a role in psychotropic drug response and, using pharmacogenomics, assigns patients into unique phenotypes and accordingly recommends suitable psychotropic drug treatments.
The deal will give Myriad a route into the neuroscience market, and the company plans to sell Genesight to primary care physicians through its Preventive Care sales team.
Mark C. Capone, Myriad’s president and CEO, said: “Importantly, this acquisition provides an experienced commercial organisation in the neuroscience market that we believe will be one of the highest growth areas for personalised medicine and completes our infrastructure expansion consistent with our four-in-six strategy.”
JP Morgan Securities was financial advisor to Myriad Genetics for the deal, while Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo have been retained as legal counsel.
Assurex had raised approximately $84m in equity and debt, including $7m in equity in mid-2014 from care providers Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, CincyTech, Sequoia Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Allos Ventures, Four Rivers Partners, Danmar Capital and JVen Capital.
The same investors added another $30m in December the same year, returning to provide $15m in funding a year later.