ICON Acquires MolecularMD to Expand Molecular Diagnostic Testing Laboratory Services

On February 22, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR), an Irish biopharmaceutical company, had acquired MolecularMD. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. With over a decade of experience in drug diagnostics and co-development, MolecularMD’s specialized central laboratory offerings will be leveraged to expand ICON’s molecular diagnostic testing capabilities. This acquisition adds testing platforms—including next-generation molecular sequencing and immunohistochemistry—to ICON’s laboratory services portfolio, thereby advancing its precision medicine initiatives across all stages of clinical development.

MolecularMD was founded in 2005 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It is a molecular diagnostics company dedicated to the development and commercialization of precision oncology therapeutics. On January 30, 2009, MolecularMD completed a $3 million Series A financing round led by Ballast Point Ventures; on February 2, 2012, it closed a $6 million Series B round with investment from Nextech Invest and Ballast Point Ventures; and on February 17, 2017, it secured an additional $2 million in funding.

MolecularMD leverages innovative technologies and rigorous standards to deliver high-sensitivity, standardized, and reliable diagnostics that facilitate the appropriate selection, monitoring, and management of patients undergoing molecularly targeted cancer therapies, thereby supporting the commercialization of novel anticancer drugs through clinical development and regulatory approval.

ICON plc was founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1990 and listed on the NASDAQ stock market on May 15, 1998. It is a company that provides outsourced drug development services to global biopharmaceutical, medical device, biosimilar, and generic pharmaceutical organizations. To support its global clinical development programs, ICON operates a worldwide network of laboratory facilities, with laboratories located in Dublin, Ireland; Farmingdale, New York; Singapore; and Tianjin, China, as well as a bioanalytical laboratory in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Dr. Steve Cutler, CEO of Acorne, stated, “We are committed to expanding our testing business into specialized fields, helping customers maximize the value of laboratory data, thereby improving efficiency and reducing development costs. MolecularMD is a recognized leader in the co-development and clinical validation of molecular diagnostics, which will enhance our laboratory service capabilities in molecular diagnostic testing and benefit Acorne’s expanded testing platform and diagnostic services.”

Ballast Point Ventures, a private equity firm founded in the United States in 2001, currently manages $360 million in assets and primarily invests in mature private companies in the healthcare, business services, communications, information technology, financial services, consumer, and retail sectors.

Nextech Invest, established in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998, is a venture capital and private equity firm primarily investing in companies at early, mid, late, and emerging growth stages. The company’s services include corporate incorporation, spin-offs, reverse mergers, and PIPE transactions, with a primary investment focus on companies in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, healthcare, cancer drug development, and oncology diagnostics.

(Compiled by Zhang Yaping)