Konica Minolta and Ambry Genetics announced the signing of a definitive agreement for a subsidiary of Konica Minolta to acquire Ambry. The transaction is partially funded by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). A total of $800 million will be paid upon closure, and there will be an additional payment of up to $200 million based on certain financial metrics over the next two years, valuing the acquisition up to a total of $1.0 billion.
Founded in 1999, Ambry is a privately held healthcare company in the U.S., led by founder, President and Chairman Charles L.M. Dunlop and CEO Dr. Aaron Elliott. Ambry has suite of genetic testing solutions for inherited and non-inherited diseases as well as for numerous clinical specialties, including oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, and general genetics. They have performed more than one million genetic tests and identified more than 45,000 mutations in at least 500 different genes.
Konica Minolta views the addition of Ambry as the first stepping-stone to create an exciting medical platform aimed at fulfilling the potential of precision medicine – an emerging approach to healthcare where genetic or molecular analysis is used to match patients with the most appropriate treatment for their specific disease. Precision medicine aims to improve a patients’ quality of life and save the healthcare system money by eliminating unnecessary and ineffective treatments. Konica Minolta plans to bring Ambry’s capabilities first to Japan, and then to Europe.
“This acquisition is the first in a series of strategic initiatives to secure a leading position for Konica Minolta in precision medicine”, said Shoei Yamana, President and CEO of Konica Minolta. “The future of medicine is patient-focused. Together with Ambry, we will have the most comprehensive set of diagnostic technologies for mapping an individual’s genetic and biochemical makeup, as well as the capabilities to translate that knowledge into information the medical community can use to discover, prevent, and cost-effectively treat diseases. This will not only serve as the future foundation for our healthcare business, but will pave the way for a fundamental shift in the way medicine is practiced globally.”
In 2015, Konica Minolta pioneered advanced immunostaining technology – High-Sensitivity Tissue Testing (HSTT) – that uses fluorescent nanoparticles to detect and quantify the proteins that drive disease states and offers far greater precision and accuracy than conventional immunostaining techniques. With initial applications in oncology, the proprietary technology can determine the exact cellular location and amount of specific proteins that manifest in cells, offering an early-stage, highly precise diagnosis and insights into a patient’s disease that can inform research and a clinicians’ treatment plan.