PAML, the largest standalone laboratory in the Pacific Northwest, has entered into a strategic alliance with another major player in the region. PAML said late last month it had entered into a letter of intent with Seattle-based Bloodworks Northwest (BloodworksNW), which changed its name last year from Puget Sound Blood Center. BloodworksNW has been in operation since the mid-1940s, and has gradually expanded its blood banking operations to include a significant menu of laboratory tests. The two companies labeled the work they will do together as more of a collaboration “on innovation” than a joint venture or a merger. “This letter of intent underscores the potential for synergy between our two organizations, and the role we both play providing specialized lab services to support the highest quality of patient care,” said BloodworksNW Chief Executive Officer James P. AuBuchon in a statement. “By combining our strengths, we can improve the efficiency and scope of clinical services, improve access to specialized transfusion and transplantation testing, and ensure that healthcare expenditures deliver the maximum value.” PAML Chief Executive Officer Francisco Velázquez said some form of collaboration between the two companies makes sense. “PAML and BloodworksNW share a common geography, and we are very […]
PAML, the largest standalone laboratory in the Pacific Northwest, has entered into a strategic alliance with another major player in the region.
PAML said late last month it had entered into a letter of intent with Seattle-based Bloodworks Northwest (BloodworksNW), which changed its name last year from Puget Sound Blood Center. BloodworksNW has been in operation since the mid-1940s, and has gradually expanded its blood banking operations to include a significant menu of laboratory tests.
The two companies labeled the work they will do together as more of a collaboration “on innovation” than a joint venture or a merger.
“This letter of intent underscores the potential for synergy between our two organizations, and the role we both play providing specialized lab services to support the highest quality of patient care,” said BloodworksNW Chief Executive Officer James P. AuBuchon in a statement. “By combining our strengths, we can improve the efficiency and scope of clinical services, improve access to specialized transfusion and transplantation testing, and ensure that healthcare expenditures deliver the maximum value.”
PAML Chief Executive Officer Francisco Velázquez said some form of collaboration between the two companies makes sense.
“PAML and BloodworksNW share a common geography, and we are very strong providers in our areas, and we provide services to a lot of the same hospitals, and cover a lot of the same patient populations,” he said. “If we work together, we can avoid duplications.”
One area of potential overlap is in obstetrics/gynecology. PAML provides a lot of initial prenatal bloodwork services, but BloodworksNW often provides prenatal testing for expectant mothers that is beyond the routine.
“One of the things we want to do is to immediately strengthen that process so patients can get access to all of the testing they need in one stop as opposed to making two to three stops for each patient,” Velázquez said.
He added that BloodworksNW also has a significantly stronger menu than PAML in red blood cell-based genomic testing, as well as in testing for specialty coagulation blood disorders and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA). Consolidating test menus to some extent is also expected to strengthen customer service for both labs, according to Velázquez.
The two entities are also expected to collaborate on direct-to-consumer testing and data sharing to improve BloodworksNW’s blood drives and blood banking, as well as to create more efficiencies among their respective staffs of hematologists.
Although the two labs will continue their discussions as to where else their services could complement one another’s, no cash has changed hands as part of the letter of intent, and there are no plans for a merger, according to Velázquez.
“If we help each other reach specific segments of the market and eliminate the overlap, everyone wins,” he said.
Takeaway: A collaboration between PAML and BloodworksNW will likely consolidate their market dominance in the Pacific Northwest.
