Bio-Techne Corporation has reached an agreement to acquire Asuragen Inc. for initial consideration of $215 million in cash plus contingent consideration of up to $105 million upon achievement of future milestones. Bio-Techne expects the deal to be completed in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2021.
 
Asuragen develops, manufactures, and commercializes genetic carrier screening and oncology testing kits. The company’s products leverage proprietary chemistries that can be used on PCR, qPCR, capillary electrophoresis, and next-generation sequencing instruments. This platform agnostic approach allows clinical laboratory customers to solve complex molecular diagnostic challenges and empowers hospital and regional labs to expand in-house testing capabilities. In 2020, Asuragen generated over $30 million in revenue globally and its CEO, Matt McManus, will join the Bio-Techne team.
 
Asuragen brings its FDA-cleared AmplideX Fragile X Diagnostic and Carrier Screening kit to screen prospective parents as potential carriers of Fragile X chromosomal abnormalities as well as its Quantitidex qPCR IS BCR-ABL kit to monitor of leukemia patients for minimal residual disease. Asuragen's pipeline also features expanded carrier screening panels for various pathologies recognized by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) as areas of concern for prospective new parents. Bio-Techne sees multiple growth synergies following the closing of the transaction..
 
"Asuragen is very complimentary with Bio-Techne's existing diagnostics franchise and the addition of this business is expected to drive growth synergies throughout the expanded portfolio," Chuck Kummeth, president and CEO of Bio-Techne said in a press release. "We are not only acquiring a financially strong and scalable business, building our diagnostic portfolio and expanding our bandwidth with an additional CLIA-certified and GMP compliant laboratory, but are also adding a team with deep expertise in the intricacies of the global regulatory environment and a proven track record of opening new market channels. This critical mass will be very beneficial to the Genomics and Diagnostics Segment as we commercialize our pipeline of liquid biopsy tests through our Exosome Diagnostics business and also opens the possibility of approaching the market with kitted versions of these products. We anticipate continued traction with Asuragen's leading portfolio of molecular diagnostic kits for both clinical and research uses and see significant potential in its pipeline of expanded carrier screening panels. Asuragen is a great addition to the Bio-Techne team."
 
"The Asuragen team is extremely excited to be joining Bio-Techne at this point in our growth trajectory," said McManus. "Bio-Techne's global presence, reputation and relationships within the clinical diagnostic and research communities will enable Asuragen to broaden our reach and accelerate penetration into the high-growth molecular diagnostic markets addressed by our portfolio. I am honored to continue to lead the Asuragen team as a part of Bio-Techne. I would like to thank all of the great people of Asuragen for their committed efforts growing our company to this point and am looking forward to the next stage of growth under the Bio-Techne umbrella."