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Abbott launched its Afinion 2 analyzer in the United States. It is a point-of-care, rapid, multi-assay platform that streamlines and simplifies the delivery of hemoglobin A1c and albumin to creatinine ratio results.

Along with providing rapid results—three minutes for HbA1c, five minutes for ACR—the Afinion 2 platform offers all-in-one connectivity to laboratory and hospital information systems and a sleeker, quieter experience for clinicians and patients, Abbott said in a statement.

Qiagen announces partnership, exhibits new NGS panels

Qiagen has partnered with Freenome, an artificial intelligence genomics company, to speed the development and commercialization of next-generation sequencing tests. The alliance is part of internal initiatives and partnerships that Qiagen says it is creating to reach patients more quickly with NGS tests.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting earlier this month, Qiagen showcased its new panels for the GeneReader NGS system ahead of market launch, including the GeneRead QIAact BRCA Advanced Panel, a comprehensive assay for research in somatic and hereditary mutations, and the QIAact Myeloid DNA Panel, which supports myeloid neoplasm research, covering 25 genes and their variants including SNVs and indels. In addition, a new version of the GeneRead QIAact Actionable Insights Tumor Panel, with higher analytical sensitivity and specificity for somatic variants, will be released. The panels are available for research use only.

Myriad to acquire Counsyl

Myriad Genetics has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Counsyl, a provider of expanded carrier screening and noninvasive prenatal screening, for $375 million.

Counsyl was founded in 2007. It generated more than $134 million in revenue and performed more than 280,000 reproductive genetic tests in the 12 months preceding Myriad’s May 28 announcement of its intent to acquire Counsyl, according to Myriad’s statement.

On completion of the transaction, Counsyl will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Myriad.
“By offering Counsyl’s best-in-class reproductive testing products in conjunction with Myriad’s leading hereditary cancer tests, we are well positioned to be the premier women’s health genetic testing company,” Mark C. Capone, president and CEO of Myriad Genetics, said in the statement.