Dutch-based GenDx gets acquired by France-based Eurobio Scientific for €135M

The Netherlands-based Genome Diagnostics (GenDx), a provider of molecular diagnostic kits and analysis software for transplantation and companion diagnostics, announced on Wednesday that it will be acquired by France-based Eurobio Scientific in a €135M cash deal.

GenDx’s North American office in Chicago, IL, and its Utrecht headquarters will remain open for business. Wietse Mulder, PhD, the CEO and co-founder of GenDx, will continue as CEO as well as serve on the board. He is appointed for an initial term of two years. Co-founder Erik Rozemuller, PhD, Senior Scientist in Bioinformatics, will move into a consulting position to assist the R&D team as needed. 

Offering diagnostics tools for organ and stem cell transplantation

Genome Diagnostics, also known as GenDx, is a company that specialises in molecular diagnostics and is focused on the development, production and sales of assays and analysis software for transplant and companion diagnostics.

The company was founded in 2005 by Wietse Mulder, Erik Rozemuller, Oscar Schoots, and Raoul Linschoten. Today, GenDx claims to be one of the largest global players in HLA typing, represented by more than 80 employees.

GenDx says it is an expert in HLA sequencing-based typing techniques and provides tools for both Sanger and NGS methods. As one of the first businesses to use Sanger methods in the HLA area, the company began providing NGS techniques in 2013, including NGSgo reagents and the software suite NGSengine for multiple NGS platforms. Additionally, GenDx offers products for chimerism monitoring by qPCR and – launched recently – by NGS: NGStrack and TRKengine. 

Last month, California-based Dovetail Genomics, which is now a division of Cantata Bio, granted GenDx a licence to investigate their hybrid capture technology, which enables HLA genotyping and, eventually, haplotyping of HLA genes. Furthermore, Medical College Wisconsin (MCW) granted GenDx a global licence for their patented technique to identify donor-specific cell free DNA (cfDNA) in young patients who have received heart transplants.

In 2019, Ampersand Capital Partners acquired a minority stake in the company.

Ad Tempus Vitae

According to a statement by GenDx, the deal is the result of an intensive project called ad tempus vitae (ATV), meaning “to prolong life”. There are two meanings to this phrase. First, it refers to GenDx’s selection of goods and services designed to increase transplant recipients’ lifespans. And second, it refers to preserving the heritage of the founders, which has been developed over the past 18 years, in order to extend the life of the company, GenDx.

GenDx co-founders Mulder and Rozemuller report that they will form a foundation with the funds from this deal to assist research and development in the field of transplantation.

Wietse Mulder says, “I am confident that Eurobio is a good home for GenDx to secure the support of our customers in the field of transplant diagnostics and to align with our global distributor network. Furthermore, it will allow our employees to continue their superb work in R&D, operations, logistics, regulatory affairs, sales, marketing, support and, importantly, our renowned educational activities.”

Brief about Eurobio Scientific

The Eurobio Scientific group claims to be a French pioneer in vitro diagnostics and a fully integrated company with knowledge spanning from the development of specialised diagnostic products to their commercialisation.

As a result of the acquisition of InGen by Exonhit in 2012, followed by the acquisition of Eurobio in 2017, the new Eurobio Scientific group benefits from the complementary capabilities derived from each company’s business models. The company says its growth is based on the development of its distribution activities, and the development of its high-added value diagnostic and life-science products.

Eurobio Scientific owns a broad and diversified portfolio of products in four specialty areas: transplantation, infectious diseases, life-science and cancer.

The company has built its own distribution network and a range of patented goods in the field of molecular biology through several collaborations and a significant presence in hospitals. It employs about 148 people and has three production facilities in the Paris region, Germany, and the US. It also has a number of affiliates in Dorking, UK; Sissach, Switzerland; Bünde, Germany; and Utrecht, the Netherlands.