OraSure Technologies, Inc. Announces Acquisition of CoreBiome

CoreBiome leverages OraSure’s leadership position in microbiome sample collection with end-to-end laboratory services for sample processing, sequencing, and bioinformatics

OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point of care diagnostic tests and specimen collection and stabilization devices, announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire CoreBiome. The transactions are expected to close within the next week.

CoreBiome is a privately-held, Minnesota-based early-stage microbiome services provider that accelerates discovery for customers in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and research communities. CoreBiome’s technology provides information-rich characterization of microbial diversity and function, paired with machine learning and expert analytics. CoreBiome’s proprietary genomics pipeline and optimal algorithms deliver speed and scalability in the lab as well as highly precise analytics. CoreBiome was co-founded in 2016 by Dr. Dan Knights, a globally recognized expert in microbiome informatics who has developed leading methods for analyzing microbiome data, along with Dr. Daryl Gohl and Dr. Kenny Beckman, domain experts in genomics methods and clinical lab operations.

The global microbiome market is expected to grow by double digits, from approximately $325 million in 2017 to $725 million or more in 2022. Expanding our services through the CoreBiome acquisition will allow OraSure to optimally address future microbiome research needs, capture new segments and expand our leadership position in this dynamic market.

said Dr. Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., President and CEO of OraSure Technologies.

The microbiome is transforming how people do research in human health and agriculture. Companies are increasingly looking to understand how the complex behavior of the microbiome affects their product development, and this requires big data. CoreBiome’s highly scalable and reproducible BoosterShot™ platform allows researchers to efficiently run high-resolution DNA sequencing on thousands of microbiome samples. This means investigators can now measure important changes often missed in under-powered studies. CoreBiome’s bioinformatics platform uses machine learning and advanced data visualization to help customers leverage that big data and to make world-class microbiome expertise available on-demand.

said Dr. Knights, CEO of CoreBiome.

The CoreBiome acquisition positions OraSure to become a leading, end-to-end solution provider for researchers, therapeutic and diagnostic development customers, and Direct-to-Consumer companies,

added Dr. Tang.

We look forward to accelerating the adoption of CoreBiome’s cutting-edge microbial genomics technology and analytics expertise into DNA Genotek’s customer network. We’re excited about the synergies that will come from combining DNA Genotek’s proprietary sampling and stabilization technology with CoreBiome’s platform across the many industries that will be impacted by the microbiome.