Cytyc to Acquire Digene for $553 Million

In a move to strengthen its position in cervical cancer testing, Cytyc Corp. (Boxborough, MA, USA) has agreed to acquire Digene Corp. (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) for about US$553.7 million in cash and stock.

Cytyc develops and markets sample preparation systems (ThinPrep) and other products for cervical cancer testing that are designed to be more accurate and easier to read. Currently, one in every three US cervical screening tests is a ThinPrep Pap test.

Digene develops and markets DNA and RNA test systems, including the Hybrid Capture test (HC 2) for the human papilloma virus (HPV), which Digene says is the cause of more than 99% of cervical cancer cases. Its HPV test is often used as an adjunct to the Pap test for cervical cancer screening, particularly in ambiguous cases.

"We believe the combined platform of HC 2 technology based upon Digene's substantial portfolio of intellectual property, together with the ThinPrep collection vial, provides tremendous opportunities for molecular testing of a panel of sexually transmitted diseases and other cancer markers,” said Patrick J. Sullivan, CEO and vice chairman of Cytyc.




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