Terms of the deal, expected to complete during the current first quarter, subject to regulatory approval, see the equipment manufacturer based in the US state of Massachusetts paying up to $100 million more for the California-headquartered biotech on completion of certain milestones.

Under the name Accula, Mesa Biotech, which employs 500 people and had 2020 sales of around $45 million, has developed and commercialized a PCR-based rapid point-of-care testing platform for detecting infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Strep. The platform has received  510(k) clearance and Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) waivers from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The platform, which is claimed to have higher accuracy compared with other rapid tests on the market, has also received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA for Covid-19 in vitro diagnostic testing. Additionally, Mesa has been selected by the National Institutes of Health to advance through its “Shark Tank” COVID-19 diagnostics competition, granting it federal funding to help scale up its manufacturing lines.

Commenting on the acquisition plans, Mark Stevenson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific, said, “Mesa Biotech's innovative platform will enable us to accelerate the availability of reliable and accurate advanced molecular diagnostics at the point of care.” The PCR-based test, he said, “is highly complementary to our existing offering and will further help us meet the continuing demand for COVID-related testing while we work to rapidly scale and develop point-of care tests for other infectious diseases.”

Ingo Chakravarty, president and CEO of Mesa Biotec, said Thermo Fisher Scientific‘s scale, innovation and global reach “will allow us to more significantly amplify the impact our technology will have on human health, during the pandemic, and far beyond."

Thermo Fisher‘s latest deal follows its recent $878 million acquisition of Novasep’s Henogen division, which produces viral vectors used in certain COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments. The company’s chairman, president and CEO, Marc Casper, said 2021 will see the company quickly accelerate its long-term roadmap of M&A plans.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist