Immucor sequences Sirona acquisition

US-based transfusion and transplant diagnostics specialist Immucor has acquired Sirona Genomics, a spinout of Stanford University’s Genome Technology Center (SGTC), for an undisclosed sum.

Established in 2014, Sirona has developed technology, dubbed Mia Fora, that enables next-generation sequencing (NGS) typing applications for the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system.

The HLA gene complex encodes the major histocompatibility complex proteins in humans, which are responsible for regulating the immune system.

Mia Fora, loosely translated from the Greek for “once”, uses three algorithms to build its proprietary database for mapping and managing blood type, organ and other genomic assessments more accurately, removing the need for secondary testing.

Mia Fora NGS was launched in December 2015. Currently it is available for research use only and received its European Union conformity CE Mark in February 2016.

Immucor specialises in patient-donor compatibility testing.

The bioinformatics company held an exclusive option to acquire Sirona under the terms of their affiliation that had the two organisations working on the development and commercialisation of the Mia Fora NGS analysis software.

Jeff Binder, Immucor’s chairman, president and chief executive, said: “Since October 2014, the Sirona and Immucor teams have collaborated to bring to market a superior HLA typing product that provides a better-matched donor for each transplant patient with less rework for the lab. With the Sirona team on board, we will drive market adoption of Mia Fora NGS together.”

Michael Mindrinos, president and co-founder of Sirona, said: “We are excited to become a part of the global Immucor organisation, which is focused on enabling better patient care in transfusion and transplant medicine.

“Together, we will continue to work to bring our pipeline of additional Mia Fora NGS-based products to market, including our high-volume test kit for bone marrow registry HLA typing.”