Bay Area laboratory solutions company Agilent Technologies has agreed to acquire Biocare Medical, a pathology solutions business, in an all-cash transaction valued at $950 million.
Agilent aims to enhance its pathology portfolio with Biocare by purchasing the company from an investor group led by Excellere Partners and GHO Capital Partners, according to a March 9 release. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 and comes nine years after Excellere’s first strategic investment in Biocare.
San Francisco-based Biocare’s pathology products focus on immunohistochemistry (IHC), in situ hybridization (ISH) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) diagnostic techniques for patients with cancer. The company has developed more than 300 specialized antibodies and has generated double-digit revenue and profit growth since 2021, while producing $90 million in revenue last year, according to the release.
Agilent CEO Padraig McDonnell called the transaction a “complementary combination” that will accelerate innovation, while Biocare CEO Luis de Luzuriaga said it was the right time to move forward and “expand our operational scale.”
In addition to driving top-line growth, Agilent is looking to expand its own IHC offering and strengthen its ability to commercialize IVD antibodies. Biocare’s commercial presence in the U.S. will complement Agilent’s global operations, according to the release.
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Agilent scored a major win last month when the FDA approved its diagnostic alongside Merck’s Keytruda for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. It became the only approved companion diagnostic to help identify patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer or primary peritoneal carcinoma. These tumors express the protein PD-L1, and the test can identify patients who may benefit from treatment with Keytruda. It marked the seventh FDA-approved companion diagnostic use for Agilent’s test tied to the drug.
