Thermo Fisher to acquire molecular diagnostics provider Mesa Biotech for $450M

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is acquiring privately held molecular diagnostics company Mesa Biotech Inc. for about $450 million in cash.

The Waltham, Mass.-based life sciences company will pay up to an additional $100 million to Mesa if certain milestones are met after the transaction closes, Thermo Fisher said in its Jan. 19 news release.

Once the acquisition is completed, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2021, the business will become part of Thermo Fisher's Life Sciences Solutions segment.

San Diego-based Mesa's portfolio consists of rapid tests for the detection of COVID-19, influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus, and strep A.

Mesa's Accula System, an in-vitro test for coronavirus that provides results within 30 minutes, received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorization in March 2020 and is now available in in-patient settings.

"The addition of Mesa Biotech's easy-to-use, rapid PCR-based test is highly complementary to our existing offering and will further help us meet the continuing demand for COVID-related testing while we work to rapidly scale and develop point-of-care tests for other infectious diseases in the future," Thermo Fisher's Executive Vice President and COO Mark Stevenson said.

Mesa, which was founded in 2015, has about 500 employees and generated about $45 million in revenue in 2020, Thermo Fisher added.

The news comes four days after Thermo Fisher announced it was acquiring French company Novasep Holding SAS's viral vector manufacturing business in Belgium for €725 million in cash.