Lab Briefs

Lighthouse Lab Services Acquires Vachette Pathology

Last month, it was announced that Lighthouse Lab Services of Charlotte, N.C., had acquired Vachette Pathology of Sylvania, Ohio. Price and terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

Vachette Pathology was founded in 2002 by its current President, Mick Raich. The company describes itself as a “consulting firm specializing in revenue cycle auditing, refining revenue cycle processes and negotiating managed care contracts” for anatomic pathology groups and laboratories. It does not provide claims billing and collections services. 

Lighthouse Labs was founded in 2002 by current President CEO Jon Harol. Originally focused on medical technologist recruiting and placement, Lighthouse expanded and currently offers a full range of lab consulting services that include assisting new labs with start-up, meeting CLIA requirements, and providing medical directors. 

The addition of Vachette Pathology gives Lighthouse new capabilities in revenue cycle management consulting services to offer to laboratories. 

Hologic to Buy Mobidiag for $795 Million

in a move to strengthen its presence in multi-plexed point-of-care molecular testing, Hologic will pay approximately $795 million to acquire Mobidiag, which described itself as a Finnish-French company with offices in both countries. 

Hologic’s Chairman, CEO, and President, Steve MacMillan, said the acquisition would strengthen his company’s market position in a post-COVID-19 world. Mobidiag offers two testing platforms. One is Amplidiag and the other is Novodiag. Both are automated systems that use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and can deliver test results in two hours or less. Mobidiag did $42 million in revenue in 2020. 

Hologic is known for its Panther, Panther Fusion, and Tigris molecular diagnostic test platforms. MacMillan told analysts that the Mobidiag testing platforms will help Hologic penetrate the acute care market, which he said requires testing to be done close to patients. 

Home Test Kit for Prostate Cancer Enters Trials in UK, EU, and Canada

Soon to begin is a multi-national trial of a home test kit for aggressive prostate cancer. Patients in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada will be enrolled in the study. 

A preliminary study of the test—called the Prostate Screening Box—at two UK hospital trusts indicated that the test can detect prostate cancer up to five years sooner than current methods, noted researchers who conducted the study. 

In the upcoming multi-national trial, 2,000 men will collect urine samples twice a day: one specimen collected early in the day to include overnight secretions, and another collected one hour later. 

“We hope that use of our Prostate Screening Box could, in the future, revolutionize how those on ‘active surveillance’ are monitored for disease progression, with men only having to visit the clinic after a positive urine result,” Dr. Jeremy Clark, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, told News-Medical.net.