BioReference acquires Edge assets

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New Jersey research company BioReference Laboratories Inc. has agreed to acquire assets of Edge BioSystems, including its laboratory and genetic sequencing services business in Gaithersburg, Md.

BioReference said in a news release today the additional capacity and technical expertise resulting from this acquisition will enable further expansion of GeneDx, the Elmwood Park company’s clinical diagnostic sequencing laboratory also based in Gaithersburg.

“Our GeneDx genetics laboratory is growing rapidly in a very sophisticated and complex area of laboratory medicine, and we believe the Edge BioServ acquisition will enable us to have instant expandability for that growth,” BioReference CEO Marc Grodman said in a statement. “We have new lines of specialty work being developed, including our upcoming inherited cancers and tumor sequencing programs, that we believe will be in great demand.”

The acquisition includes sequencing equipment and capabilities expected to improve GeneDx’s ability to provide clinical genetic sequencing services. As part of the acquisition, GeneDx will acquire EdgeBio’s national list of customers.

The cost of the acquisition was not disclosed.

BioReference said this acquisition will provide GeneDx with additional equipment on multiple testing platforms operating in a CLIA-certified environment. CLIA, or clinical laboratory improvement amendments, is a federal certification indicating a laboratory meets certain quality standards. The deal is also expected to bolster GeneDx’s research and development abilities.

EdgeBio CEO Dean Gaalaas will become chief operating officer at GeneDx as part of the deal. Gaalaas will bring with him research and development personnel, including bioinformatics developers.

This marks the second acquisition in a week for BioRefernce. Last week, the company acquired most assets of Hunter Laboratories, a clinical laboratory in northern California, That purchase expands BioRefrenece’s national footprint and includes most of Hunter’s current business, including Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid system.

Reporter Tom Zanki is @BizTZanki on Twitter.