Indian Genomic Firm Acquires Lifecode Health

By Ron Shinkman, Editor, Laboratory Industry Report

Lifecode Health has been acquired by an Indian company that will use its assets as a foothold into the U.S. market.

Bangalore, India-based MedGenome announced the acquisition of the California-based Lifecode last week. The deal also includes Lifecode’s 13,000 square-foot laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area. Several of Lifecode’s key employees were also retained.

Lifecode developed an assay known as the Pan Cancer Somatic Panel, which analyzes both common metastatic and rare and refractory cancers through the testing of solid tumors. The assay had been offered through a pilot program and had not yet been fully commercialized.

The company had initially launched in 2013 as Silicon Valley Biosystems, but changed its name to Lifecode early last year. At about the same time it rebranded, the company received an investment of $20.5 million from Sequoia Capital, the Mayo Clinic, and Mayo Ventures.

MedGenome offers a variety of single gene and gene panel assays for medical conditions such as heart disease, nephrology and neurology, among other areas. The company also has a growing drug testing business in the United States.

“We have been expanding in the U.S. responding to the need for faster, cheaper and better genomic services and solutions,” said MedGenome Chief Executive Officer Sam Santhosh in a statement. “The acquisition of this lab will allow us to grow our customer base even more aggressively in the U.S.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.