Consolidation of private pathology group practices continues. On July 8, NeoGenomics of Fort Myers, Florida, announced that it had acquired Path Logic of Sacramento. Then, one day later, Incyte Diagnostics of Spokane, Washington, disclosed that it was buying Accupath Pathology Services, Inc., of Seattle, Washington. Path Logic was founded by Peter Kolbek, M.D., in 1999 as a niche renal biopsy service and expanded to nine pathologists in multiple subspecialties. It attracted private equity capital from Mainsail Partners in 2010. Accupath Laboratory Services was founded in 1981. It was owned by Robert Hasselbrack, M.D., and has six pathologists on staff.
MORE ON: Pathology Group Consolidation
No region of the United States seems to be consolidating pathology groups faster than Washington State. In recent months, a spate of pathology group practice acquisitions has been announced. At the forefront have been Incyte Diagnostics and CellNetix (based in Seattle). In the month of May, Incyte and CellNetix acquired a private pathology group practice located in Washington state. (See TDR, May 19, 2014.)
ACCREDITATION OF PROFICIENCY TEST PROVIDERS
In the field of proficiency testing, the bar is being raised. Last month, seven accreditation bodies from six nations were inaugural signatories to the APLAC Mutual Recognition Agreement for the accreditation of proficiency testing providers (PTPs). APLAC is the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation. The signatories are accredited to “the international standard ISO/IEC 17043: Conformity assessment—General requirements for proficiency testing to accredit PTPs.” The Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) from the United States is a signatory to the APLAC mutual recognition agreement. The seven signatories have agreed to recognize the cross-border accreditations of each other.
TRANSITIONS
- Ativa Medical Corp. of St. Paul, Minnesota, announced the appointment of James M. McNalley, Ph.D., as President and CEO. McNalley has held positions at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Bio-Imaging Research, and Picker International.
Dark Daily Update
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…how labs offering BRCA tests to assess risk of breast cancer have begun to share data. They are using Clinvar, a service developed under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. Participants predict the Clinvar database will have more mutations than Myriad Genetics’ proprietary database as early as one year from now. You can get the free DARK Daily e-briefings by signing up at www.darkdaily.com.
