INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
LightDeck Diagnostics and Heska | September 13, 2022
Heska Corporation a leading global provider of advanced veterinary diagnostic and specialty solutions, announced today that the Company has entered a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of MBio Diagnostics, Inc. d/b/a LightDeck Diagnostics a pioneer in innovative planar waveguide fluorescence immunoassay diagnostics with strong manufacturing and specialized production capabilities.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, LightDeck has developed a scalable and innovative platform for rapid and accurate point of care diagnostics. LightDeck's 80-member team includes industry veterans, engineers, and scientists, with deep technical expertise in assay development, manufacturing, and software development, who have collaborated with commercial, academic, and government partners worldwide to build an extensive intellectual property portfolio of 16 US patents and 15 international patents with broad applications, including in veterinary diagnostics, water testing, and human in-vitro diagnostics use. LightDeck's planar waveguide technology optimizes laser activated fluorescence and microfluidics to provide point of care cartridge-based testing without compromise, enabling reference lab-quality results in minutes with inexpensive, quantitative, and easy-to-use functionality. LightDeck's current Boulder location includes fully equipped laboratories for assay development and controlled manufacturing capabilities that support its new, state-of-the-art, highly automated facility in Longmont, Colorado, anticipated to go online in 2023 to dramatically scale-up capacity, production, and research and development.
"We are thrilled to welcome the entire LightDeck team to Heska. We have known and closely followed their success for years and we are happy to fully join with them today as one team focused on supercharging their great work. LightDeck brings to Heska best-in-breed, highly scalable manufacturing and world-class assay development to help drive our strategies for winning at innovation and winning at scale," commented Kevin Wilson, Heska's Chief Executive Officer and President. "LightDeck was central in developing Heska's leading immunodiagnostic platform, Element i+®, including its current menu of Total T4, cTSH, Cortisol, and Progesterone. Having proven our capability, we now take this next important step as we aim to drive production of Element i+® analyzers and cartridges at scale and to accelerate key test menu expansion, such as our recently announced Nu.Q® Vet Cancer Screen, cCRP, SDMA, infectious diseases, and more, in single and multi-plex formats that are substantially better than the competition. We expect to drive gross margin improvement with new manufacturing capabilities and scaling across the business. The addition of LightDeck is a great strategic, financial, and cultural fit with Heska as we continue our march to the top of the innovation and manufacturing competition for the most valuable diagnostics," concluded Mr. Wilson.
"This is a terrific outcome for LightDeck and Heska and their shareholders, employees and commercial partners. We have known and worked with Heska for years and we greatly admire the Heska organization. Since its founding in 2009, LightDeck has been dedicated to revolutionizing testing at the point of care- for faster, more accurate, less expensive, multi-plex testing of the most important diagnostic tests. We have developed one of the most innovative and technologically-advanced assay platforms in the world, which has led to our recent addition to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2022. I am very proud of the work our team has accomplished over the last 13 years." LightDeck's Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Mike Lochhead, went on to say, "We are excited to now enter this next phase with Heska to dramatically expand our reach and scale. What we do at LightDeck matters a great deal. With Heska, we go confidently into our next commercial, manufacturing, and development chapters, strongly engaged, highly supported, and clearly set-up for long-term success and growth."
Nick Traggis, LightDeck's Chief Executive Officer
About Heska
Heska Corporation manufactures, develops and sells advanced veterinary diagnostics, informatics, and specialty healthcare solutions through its two business segments: North America and International. Both segments include Point of Care Lab testing instruments and consumables, digital imaging products, software and services, data services, allergy testing and immunotherapy, and single-use offerings such as in-clinic diagnostic tests and heartworm preventive products. The North America segment also includes private label vaccine and pharmaceutical production for third-parties, primarily for herd animal health.
About LightDeck Diagnostics
LightDeck Diagnostics believes in a new approach to healthcare, where quick and accurate diagnostic tests will be run wherever and whenever they are needed. The company's proprietary LightDeck® platform combines an advanced laser waveguide with novel materials and patented manufacturing techniques to deliver lab-quality results anywhere, in minutes. The LightDeck platform is achieving success in veterinary diagnostics and for environmental testing. LightDeck is also developing a portfolio of in vitro diagnostic panels. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado, and is recognized as Colorado BioScience Association's Company of the Year, 2021.
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INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
ProPhase Labs, Inc. | June 29, 2022
ProPhase Labs, Inc., a diversified biotech, genomics, and diagnostics company manufacturing homeopathic and health products, announced the formation of a new wholly-owned subsidiary, ProPhase BioPharma, Inc. (PBIO), for the development and licensing of new therapeutic compounds, drugs, and biotechnology. The subsidiary will be focused on advancements in technology across the biochemical industry and creating and developing new solutions that can transform the outcomes of healthcare.
The company has also entered into a license agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of DSS, Inc., Global BioLife, Inc. (Global BioLife), for Equivir G and Equivir, proprietary compounds that were developed by Global Research and Discovery Group (GRDG). According to the terms of the contract, ProPhase Labs will be the only company that can develop and sell Equivir G and Equivir, globally.
“We are thrilled to announce the formation of ProPhase BioPharma, our new wholly-owned subsidiary tasked with licensing and developing novel drugs, compounds, and biotechnology. We are equally pleased with our first licensing agreement for Equivir and Equivir G, which we believe have significant potential to improve human health outcomes worldwide.”
Ted Karkus, ProPhase Lab’s Chief Executive Officer
He further added, “We plan to pursue commercialization of Equivir as an OTC supplement, leveraging our distribution in over 40,000 Food Drug and Mass retail stores and online direct to consumer. We also look forward to applying to the FDA for an IND for Equivir G as a prescription antiviral.”
Frank. D. Heuszel, Chief Executive Officer of DSS, said “We are excited to team up with ProPhase Labs, which will apply its nearly three decades of experience enhancing the health of the public to Equivir, which we believe to be a ground-breaking treatment that will positively impact health in the U.S. and globally.”
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INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
Ecological Laboratories, Inc. | July 08, 2022
Ecological Laboratories, Inc. a Biotechnology company that develops and manufactures novel, proprietary, liquid microbial formulations capable of solving many of the most challenging environmental problems, announced that it has acquired TOMCO Chemical. TOMCO Chemical has provided bacterial products specifically to breakdown solids and reduce odors for Hog Farms in the United States.
"We are thrilled to bring together the TOMCO team with Ecological, which gives us critical mass to research, support and deliver against producer's farm waste challenges today and tomorrow."
Ecological's CEO Nick Favret
Ecological Laboratories, Inc. has been servicing the Hog Farming Waste Management Industry for more than forty years. By acquiring TOMCO, Ecological will be able to reach more farming leaders looking to use Biologically friendly solutions moving forward. TOMCO's premier product Pit-Perfect, a component of their In-Gest-O-Bac product series has been a tool used by farmers with great success. As Bio-Gas and Sustainable Agriculture continue to scale globally, Ecological recognizes the further demand of their microbial solutions.
Ecological's Farm Waste Management solutions under the brand MICROBE-LIFT is the most effective way to improve farm waste processes. With unmatched capabilities to breakdown waste, and reduce toxic gases. MICROBE-LIFT technology drives down costs, increases operation efficiency, provides return on investment and supports regulatory compliance.
"I am proud to announce the merger of TOMCO Chemical and Ecological Laboratories, Inc. By joining forces with Ecological we have the capacity to bring the best solution in waste management to a level that has not been seen before", said Tom Elsner President & CEO of TOMCO Chemical.
Ecological Laboratories, Inc. continues to innovate with our propriety microbial formulations focusing on solutions for the Commercial Waste Water, Farm Waste, Aquaculture, Composting, Eco-System Restoration and Bio Gas Industries as well as the Retail Water Garden, Lawn and Garden, Aquarium, Pet, Hydroponic and Septic markets.
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