Trinity Biotech buys Phoenix Biotech
Extends position in syphilis testing market
Trinity Biotech, an Ireland-based developer of diagnostic products for the point-of-care and clinical laboratory markets, has bought Canada-based diagnostics company Phoenix Biotech for US$2.5m.
Trinity Biotech has paid $1m upfront with the remaining $1.5m to be paid over the next 12 months.
Trinity said it will combine Phoenix’s syphilis total antibody (IgG and IgM) test with its Trinity Captia syphilis range, thereby gaining a significant position in the syphilis testing market.
Phoenix's annual revenues are approximately $1.25m.
Trinity previously distributed Phoenix Biotech's syphilis products on a non-exclusive basis in the US. Consequently, the net incremental revenues for Trinity will be approximately $1m a year.
The Phoenix business currently located in Toronto will be merged into Trinity's operations in Jamestown, New York over the next six months.
Ronan O'Caoimh, chief executive of Trinity, said: ‘Phoenix Biotech represents a perfect strategic fit for Trinity. Syphilis detection is an area in which we are already active and has been identified as a key growth market for us. Phoenix Biotech's sales are currently concentrated in the US and Canadian markets and we believe that with our extensive distributor network in the rest of the world we are ideally positioned to grow sales outside of these two markets.’
O'Caoimh said Trinity is focused on growing organically and is currently developing new point of care tests which, in addition to its new A1c instrument, PDx, will be the main drivers of this growth.
‘The Phoenix acquisition is an exception to our organic growth strategy – for a relatively small investment we have purchased the only FDA approved syphilis total antibody elisa test – thereby providing a significant growth opportunity for our infectious disease business,’ he added.
There are currently 69 million syphilis tests conducted in the US annually and incidences of the disease are growing in the region by around 12% each year. Similar levels of growth are being experienced in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
