Roche to Pick Up ‘Troubled’ LumiraDx’s POC Platform Business

Roche is acquiring LumiraDx’s point-of-care diagnostics platform business for about $295 million. The deal also includes Roche paying $55 million to London-based LumiraDx to fund the POC business until the deal is complete.

The deal comes after LumiraDx has fought to find its footing because of a significant decline in demand for COVID-19 testing.

Through the acquisition, which is set to close by mid-year, Roche would gain access to a range of immunoassay and clinical chemistry tests on a single platform. These are capable of being stored at room temperature which enables convenient handling in a range of decentralized healthcare settings.

“The addition of the LumiraDx technology to our diagnostics portfolio will enable us to transform testing at the point of care,” said Matt Sause, CEO of Roche Diagnostics. “LumiraDx has developed a highly versatile platform that delivers strong performance across multiple disease areas and technologies. We believe this will enable better patient access to timely results in decentralized healthcare settings worldwide.”

Roche said the acquisition fits in with its ability to enable more patient-centric healthcare, with Point of Care solutions that span the entire patient journey – from the home, pharmacy, and general practitioner’s office to the emergency room, intensive care unit, and beyond. 

LumiraDx rose to prominence during the beginning of the pandemic and went public through a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) merger with CA Healthcare Acquisition Corp. However, declining demand for COVID-19 testing led the company to drop its valuation from $5 billion to $3 billion.  

In April of 2023, the company cut 40% of its workforce because of the decline in demand for COVID-19 testing. The layoffs included full-time, part-time, and contractor positions.

The troubles for the company continued in October when it said received a letter from NASDAQ pointing out it could be delisted.  During that time, LumiraDx failed to maintain the minimum stock price required of closing at $1 or more per share for at least 10 consecutive days. LumiraDx noted that it would appeal.