In October 2018 it was announced that cancer testing laboratory Genoptix was being acquired by NeoGenomics, another cancer-focused genetic testing business, - and also SBIR involved - for $125 million in cash and 1 million NeoGenomics shares. Originally bought by Novartis (NYSE: NVS) in 2011 for $470M, in 2017 Genoptix had been purchased bought from Novartis by the private investment firms, Ampersand Capital Partners and 1315 Capital, and a management group for an undisclosed sum in January 2017. Genoptix specializes in hematology and solid tumor testing. The latest owner - Fort Myers, FL-based NeoGenomics- indicated the acquisition will expand its coverage of oncology practices and provide it with helpful relationships to those businesses. Genoptix had originally developed a revolutionary technology capable of simultaneously analyzing and isolating specific cells based on their intrinsic differences. The Company's proprietary Optophoresis Technology utilizes light to determine a cell's Optophoretic Signature, a measure of its unique physiological state at the exact moment it is being analyzed, allowing researchers to simply and efficiently gather a wide range of information. The lasers employed by Genoptix are in the biologically compatible infrared wavelengths, allowing precise cell characterization and manipulation with little or no effect on the cell itself and without requiring the use of expensive and labor-intensive tags, dyes, labels, antibodies, or other markers. Genoptix' technology is applicable across a wide range of well-established markets, including pharmaceutical research, drug discovery and diagnostics as well as smaller but growing markets such as prenatal testing, tissue engineering, cell selection, infertility and stem cell isolation.
