Samsung Electronics Co. has acquired the Nexus division of ITC Nexus Holding Company (ITC), a provider of cardiac point-of-care testing solutions.

Nexus develops, manufactures and markets the Cardiac STATus, DECISION Point, and VYENT line of rapid test kits that aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of several cardiovascular diseases.

"This investment represents an exciting opportunity to strengthen Nexus' technological capabilities while enabling Samsung to compete in the cardiac point-of-care testing market," said Yong-chu Bang, Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Health and Medical Equipment (HME) business team. "We welcome the expertise that Nexus brings and believe this partnership will play a vital role in helping Samsung to position itself as a global leader in healthcare technology."

"Samsung has a history of leadership and innovation in high growth sectors and has recently announced a commitment to invest in the medical device, diagnostic, and biopharmaceutical industries," said ITC Chief Executive Officer John Sperzel. "We believe this divestiture will provide Nexus the resources and support to continue to develop and build its platform of cutting edge rapid cardiac testing products and enable ITC to focus and build on its core hemostasis point-of-care testing and monitoring products that target the physician office and hospital markets."

Nexus will continue to operate from its San Diego, CA headquarters and become part of Samsung's HME division which focuses on developing and bringing to market innovative technological solutions for the healthcare industry.

As part of long-term plans to develop next-generation growth engines, Samsung announced last year its goal to invest 1.2 trillion won through 2020 in healthcare equipment. Its first major move into electronic diagnostics tools began early this year with the acquisition of a controlling stake in diagnostic ultrasound manufacturer Medison, now renamed Samsung Medison Co.

ITC Nexus Holding Company will continue business under the name ITC. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2011. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Similar to Sony (which recently made an acquisition of its own), Samsung is also a well established global brand, particularly known for its consumer electronics. Samsung is already involved in collaborations in the IVD market. Samsung may have been continuing to watch other major consumer electronics companies, such as Toshiba, and their growing involvement in the medical device and IVD areas, and wondering if they should do the same. A company like Samsung, with its global reach, capital assets, and marketing prowess, could have a significant impact on the IVD and medical device markets.

-Richard Park