Dive Brief:
- Labcorp said Friday it has struck a deal to buy Millennium Health, an accredited specialty laboratory. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Millennium offers testing services to help clinicians monitor the use of prescription medications and illicit drugs.
- Buying Millennium extends a wave of takeovers by Labcorp, which has reached agreements to acquire assets from BioReference Health and Myriad Genetics this month.
Dive Insight:
Millennium tests for evidence of drug use in urine and oral fluids. The services help clinicians identify recent use of prescription, over-the-counter and illicit drugs, as well as detect medication use that may cause drug-drug interactions.
The urine test uses mass spectrometry to detect drugs. Millennium offers oral fluid drug testing as an alternative. Testing oral fluid rather than urine allows clinicians to observe specimen collection, limiting opportunities for tampering, and can be helpful for patients unable to provide a urine specimen.
Labcorp, which has yet to close the takeover, plans to integrate the tests into its broader offering. The company framed integration as a way for Millennium customers to benefit from its broader test menu and patient service center network.
“By combining Labcorp's national scale, scientific leadership and digital capabilities with Millennium Health’s specialized toxicology testing capabilities and unique drug surveillance tools, we have an opportunity to make a greater impact on people living with chronic pain, mental health conditions and substance use disorders,” Andrea Throop, head of toxicology at Labcorp, said in a statement.
The Millennium deal is the third takeover disclosed by Labcorp in eight days. The flurry of activity began on Oct. 15 when Labcorp agreed to buy laboratory testing businesses from Opko Health subsidiary BioReference for $722 million. Days later, Labcorp struck a deal to acquire Myriad's prenatal health testing business for $210 million.
Labcorp's recent string of deals is part of a long-term strategy to grow through acquisitions. In recent years, Labcorp has acquired hospital testing businesses to expand its geographic footprint while buying specialty laboratories to broaden its test menu.
