Santa Clara, CA and Niel, Belgium 12/20/16—Agilent Technologies, a leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets, has announced a definitive agreement to purchase Belgium-based Multiplicom for €68 million ($71 million = €0.96 = $1) in cash. Multiplicom provides genetic testing technology and products. “Multiplicom’s products and technology help expand our target-enrichment portfolio and enhance our next-generation sequencing workflow capabilities—providing immediate scale in adjacent markets,” stated Herman Verrelst, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Genomics Division. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-January 2017.

Multiplicom has 90 employees. The company offers NGS-based assays, in the form of kits for oncology, genetic and cardio disorders, and prenatal testing, including CE-IVD marked assays. The products that are designed for target amplification are based on proprietary multiplex PCR and Multiplex Amplification of Specific Targets for Resequencing (MASTR) technologies. A spokesperson for Agilent told IBO, “This acquisition expands Agilent’s target enrichment portfolio offering, enhances NGS workflow capabilities and provides immediate scale in adjacent markets.” Regarding the technology’s advantages, she said “MASTR assays offer an innovative combination of premixed PCR primers in a ready-to-use kit, enabling enhanced target amplification for DNA-based diagnostics. This proprietary combination allows for performance that is fit for CE-IVD use.”