Health intelligence company Sema4 has agreed to acquire genomic testing and analysis provider GeneDx from OPKO Health in a deal valued at around $623m.
The deal consists of an upfront payment of $150m in cash, as well as 80 million shares in Sema4. It also includes an additional $150m revenue-based milestones over the next two years.
GeneDx, which is a subsidiary of BioReference Laboratories, provides a suite of genetic testing services. BioReference Laboratories is a wholly owned subsidiary of OPKO Health.
The company provides a clinical genomics programme with expertise in exome sequencing for paediatric rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders.
Sema4 founder and CEO Dr Eric Schadt said: “This acquisition gives us the opportunity to accelerate the use of genomics as standard of care by providing a deeper menu of precision medicine solutions to our health system partners to better meet their clinical needs.
“Adding GeneDx’s comprehensive dataset and capabilities to our offerings enables us to inform on an even broader range of diseases, further closing the gap between the practice of medicine and the availability of more clinically actionable guidance.”
With a projected $350m in pro forma 2022 revenue, the combined company is expected to become one of the largest providers of genomic clinical testing in the US.
GeneDx’s rare disease diagnostic and exome sequencing services with over 300,000 clinical exomes and 2.1 million expertly annotated phenotypes will help strengthen Sema4’s 12 million de-identified clinical records for Centrellis and Traversa platforms.
Centrellis is Sema4’s health intelligence platform, while Traversa is the company’s genomic analysis platform to optimise health screenings.
Subject to customary closing conditions including approval by the stockholders of Sema4, the deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor, while Fenwick & West acted as legal counsel to Sema4 on the deal. J.P. Morgan served as lead financial advisor, while Cowen acted as financial advisor to OPKO on the deal.
