Co-Diagnotics buys two biotech companies

Co-Diagnostics Inc., a molecular diagnostics company based in Salt Lake City, has announced the acquisition Idaho Molecular Inc. and Advanced Conceptions Inc. Both biotechnology companies are also located in Salt Lake City and will become wholly owned subsidiaries of Co-Diagnostics.

Co-Diagnostics said it has been working with Idaho Molecular and Advanced Conceptions on the development of Co-Diagnostics’ upcoming at-home/point-of-care diagnostic device. The transactions will provide Co-Diagnostics with all existing and future assets and intellectual property related to the developing platform.

Co-Diagnostics said it expects that the acquisition will streamline the commercialization of the Eikon platform and YourTest PCR device as it nears completion and prepares for a market release with an easy-to-use, sample-to-result COVID-19 test.

Terms of the agreement include issuance of nearly 4.72 million shares of the Co-Diagnostics stock, including those shares provided as incentives to encourage efficient and timely completion of development and manufacturing milestones, plus additional common warrants totaling 465,000. The company expected the agreements to close prior to the end of the year 2021.

Per the terms of the agreements, Kirk Ririe and Carl Wittwer, both pioneers of rapid and real-time PCR who have launched a series of PCR instruments in use worldwide, and key personnel in the platform’s development to date, will respectively become president of each subsidiary and chairman of the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Dwight Egan, CEO of Co-Diagnostics, said, “For nearly a year now we have had the honor of working with some of the greatest minds in PCR device development, and we are pleased to be able to announce that with this merger they will become part of the Co-Dx family. We believe that this acquisition immediately increases the company’s value and will allow for greater efficiency when developing future product iterations and as we begin principle and large-scale manufacturing of the device and initial COVID-19 test, all with the additional financial benefit of allowing commercialization of these groundbreaking products without royalties or restrictions.”

“The infectious disease testing landscape has shifted dramatically in the past two years, especially as it relates to COVID-19,” continued Egan, “and we have long maintained that regular, efficient, affordable PCR tests at the point-of-care and especially in at-home settings is the only way to truly operationalize testing to the extent necessary to allow for a high quality of life in this changed world. We believe that this acquisition provides the best opportunity to realize the full potential of the Eikon platform, and the company as a whole. This business combination gives us the talent and technology to build on the foundation we have already established and propels us forward as the world traverses from centralized healthcare to more efficient and cost-effective at-home and point-of-care business models.”