LuminUltra Acquires Legionella Testing Business from Genomadix and Inks Strategic License to Commercialize Additional Tests for Ultra-portable Molecular Diagnostic Platform

LuminUltra (luminultra.com), the global leader in applied molecular diagnostics, today announced the acquisition of the legionella testing business assets of Genomadix Inc (genomadix.com), along with rights to develop and commercialize further assays and test methods in water, energy and food and beverage markets globally using the Genomadix Cube™ qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) Platform.

With this transaction, LuminUltra further expands its industry-leading portfolio of molecular testing solutions for rapid identification and quantification of the microbes within residential, commercial and industrial water systems that are responsible for causing the potentially deadly Legionnaire’s disease.

When paired with its easy-to-use automated test kit, the Genomadix Cube thermocycling platform will generate results that measure the presence and quantity of Legionella contamination in under one hour with laboratory-grade sensitivity. The elegant simplicity of the system allows any user in the field to quickly and accurately assess the level of contamination within their water system and take the actions necessary to minimize risk of outbreaks and operational downtime.

The industry leading legionella detection toolkit

“With this latest addition to our portfolio, we can now help even more customers around the world to rapidly and accurately monitor and manage against the proliferation of harmful Legionella bacteria,” said Pat Whalen, LuminUltra CEO. “This rapid, point of use solution complements our existing GeneCount® laboratory qPCR workflow and mail-in sample testing offerings by providing a best-in-class solution for those time sensitive, ‘in-field’ use cases that demand near-real-time and accurate results to confidently inform critical operational decisions and actions.”

Steve Edgett, CEO of Genomadix, added, “LuminUltra was the perfect home for the Legionella business that we nurtured under the Spartan Bioscience brand. We intend to support a seamless transition with our customers. We are thrilled that LuminUltra will bring scale, expertise, and focus to the Legionella business. Genomadix is focused on the development and commercialization of precision medicine tests on the Cube and licensing our CubeX Open Platform to strategic partners. This agreement is a win-win as LuminUltra will lead the development of new tests and expanded access to fast and accurate qPCR testing on CubeX for time-sensitive point of use applications in applied markets.”

The transaction was completed on July 31, 2024.

About LuminUltra

Founded in 1995, LuminUltra is a biological diagnostic testing company headquartered in Canada with operations in six countries. Widely recognized as the global leader in applied molecular diagnostics for the water, energy and food & beverage markets, it was also a key supplier of COVID-19 clinical testing reagents to the Government of Canada. Customers in over 80 countries trust LuminUltra’s technology, production reliability and history of customer service excellence to deliver their essential services in a safe-state. At the same time, LuminUltra fosters a culture of innovation and agility and is on an accelerated growth path, acquiring multiple companies in recent years and forming a partnership with the specialized private equity firm XPV Water Partners.

About Genomadix

Based in Ottawa, Canada, Genomadix Inc. is a pioneer in real-time qPCR point of need technology. The Genomadix Cube is a molecular diagnostic instrument capable of performing tests for precision medicine genotyping on a sample-to-result platform. The portable size, ease of use, and on-demand processing capability enables users to generate time-critical results in approximately one hour. The Cube platform is also available as an open platform called CubeX that can be used to design, develop and run any qPCR test for research and product development use. Applications of the Genomadix Cube technology include but are not limited to precision medicine, clinical and environmental. For more information, visit www.genomadix.com.