Auckland-based biotechnology company DNAiTECH has secured NZD $1 million in funding to advance its development of instant diagnostic tests that do not require a laboratory.

Diagnostic company SphingoTec GmbH (“SphingoTec”) today announced a new partnership with Beckman Coulter Diagnostics Inc. (“Beckman Coulter”). Through this collaboration, the companies will bring an assay for SphingoTec’s innovative kidney function biomarker, Proenkephalin 119-159 (penKid), to Beckman Coulter’s extensive test menu for use on the Access Family of Immunoassay Analyzers. This alliance marks the first central laboratory license for a penKid assay and aims to significantly enhance the diagnostic capabilities for acute kidney injury (AKI) globally, by leveraging Beckman Coulter’s global installed base of instruments.

Following the passage of continuing resolutions (CR) by the US Senate and the House of Representatives this week, lab test reimbursement cuts and price reporting requirements called for under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) are likely to be delayed one year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, headquartered in Massachusetts, announced that it will open a new bioanalytical laboratory in GoCo Health Innovation City, located in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new building, situated adjacent to AstraZeneca's key research location, will improve the company's laboratory services.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Sentara Health Plans, the health plan division of Sentara Health, an integrated, not-for-profit health care delivery system, today announced a multi-year strategic collaboration designed to expand access to high-quality, affordable and comprehensive laboratory testing for members of Sentara Health Plans.

Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, and OPKO Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPK), a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company, announced today the completion of Labcorp's acquisition of select assets of BioReference Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of OPKO Health. The transaction is expected to provide patients, physicians and customers with greater access to Labcorp's comprehensive, high-quality laboratory services, scientific expertise and expanded testing capabilities in key regions across the country.

The reform of the distribution enterprises is imperative in the industrial chain, and the enterprises gradually begin to extend to service-oriented ones.

Agilent Technologies Inc., (NYSE: A) today announced the launch of its Biopharma CDx Services Lab (BCSL) in Carpinteria, California, following receipt of California State clinical laboratory license and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certificate of compliance.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced the completion of its acquisition of LifeLabs from OMERS. The transaction, valued at approximately CAN $1.35 billion (approximately USD $1 billion), including net debt, has received all necessary approvals and is now closed.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic information services, and University Hospitals, one of the nation's leading nonprofit health systems and academic medical centers, today announced a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire select assets of University Hospitals' outreach laboratory services business.