LabGenomics Acquires 3 More US Clearlabs... Nobel Laureate Dr. Giannikopoulos Joins Lab

(Views of the Berkeley, Sacramento, and Aurora Lab buildings from left to right.) / Photo by LabGenomics

LabGenomics announced on the 19th that it will acquire a total of three CleaLabs in the central and western United States through its U.S. subsidiary. This additional achievement came after about a year of review following the acquisition of QDx, located in the eastern region, in the second half of last year.

The three CleaLabs are operated by IMD. IMD was operating two CleaLabs in Sacramento and Aurora, U.S., and then acquired PSI (Pathology Services Inc), which owns a CleaLab in Berkeley. With a total of three CleaLabs, the diagnostic portfolio will expand from respiratory diseases to cancer diagnosis, and regional coverage is also expected to broaden.

LabGenomics stated, “While the existing QDx specializes in pathology, IMD is characterized by offering next-generation sequencing (NGS) cancer diagnostics and infectious polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics,” adding, “We have already contracted with Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major U.S. insurer that does not contract with new CleaLabs, and we provide services mainly to university hospitals and medium-to-large hospitals, so rapid external growth is expected.”

They continued, “Coverage has expanded to the western and central regions centered on California, the largest state in the U.S. and home to many high-income individuals,” and “We will collaborate with IMD CEO Israel Villasenor, Dr. Petros Giannikopoulos, and a management team composed of CleaLab operation and diagnostic experts.”

Dr. Giannikopoulos, who serves as an advisor to IMD and collaborates on clinical and technical evaluations and lab operations, is regarded as a leading authority in cancer molecular diagnostics. He earned his doctorate from Harvard Medical School and worked at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), led by Professor Jennifer A. Doudna. Dr. Giannikopoulos was responsible for NGS and clinical lab fields at IGI, and Professor Doudna, the pioneer of CRISPR gene editing, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.

Kim Jeong-ju, CEO of LabGenomics, said, “Through a total of four CleaLabs in the eastern, western, and central regions, we have established a foothold to provide K-diagnostics across the United States,” adding, “We will maximize mutual synergy and strengthen market dominance by optimizing specimen allocation for tests in each region and enhancing transportation competitiveness.”