Molecular diagnostics company Co-Diagnostics has entered into definitive agreements with each of Idaho Molecular Inc. and Advanced Conceptions, Inc., pursuant to which each of them will become wholly owned subsidiaries of Co-Dx.
Co-Dx 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 the company with all existing and future assets and intellectual property related to the platform.
The company 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 company’s 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 expects the agreements to close prior to end of the year 2021.
Per the terms of the agreements, Kirk Ririe and Carl Wittwer, PhD, MD, both developers 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 the wholly owned subsidiary and chairman of the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“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,” says Dwight Egan, CEO of Co-Diagnostics. “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 YourTest PCR device has been designed with highly specialized optics to accommodate multiplexed assays as the company expands its suite of Eikon products to include additional respiratory and other infectious diseases utilizing the Company’s patented CoPrimer technology. The single-use YourTest PCR COVID-19 test cartridges, being designed to work with either saliva or nasal swab samples, would be analyzed in the reusable device with results displayed on users’ smartphones, pairing gold-standard PCR results with the affordability and speed of less accurate testing platforms.
“The infectious disease testing landscape has shifted dramatically in the past 2 years, especially as it relates to COVID-19,” says 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. Our strategy going forward is focused on making this next-generation healthcare solution available worldwide. 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.”
The YourTest PCR device has not been reviewed by the FDA and is not available for sale.
