CLEVELAND, Ohio - Quest Diagnostics signed a deal with Cleveland Clinic spinoff Cleveland HeartLab to acquire the company before the end of the year.
Cleveland HeartLab, a cardiovascular diagnostic testing company, has proprietary tests that use biomarkers to predict cardiovascular disease. With the deal, Quest, a New Jersey-based medical testing laboratory with locations around the world, will be able to add those diagnostic tests, and others, to its offerings.
"Despite a mountain of research showing traditional cholesterol testing can miss heart disease, many patients are still in the dark about their true risk," Jake Orville, president and CEO of Cleveland HeartLab, said in a news release. "With investment and focus from a leader like Quest, and access to the science of Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland HeartLab will be well positioned to accelerate diagnostic innovations that shed light on risk of heart disease for the individual patient."
The equity deal, of which terms were not released, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Quest plans to establish a "national center of excellence" in cardiometabolic disorders designed to find hidden risks of heart disease at the Cleveland HeartLab location.
And it will form a strategic collaboration with the Clinic on diagnostic services. Under that partnership, Quest will be able to develop tests based off of research on biomarkers completed by the Lerner Research Institute and other parts of the Clinic. The two companies will collaborate on trials.
"By combining the science of Cleveland Clinic with the innovation and reach of Quest Diagnostics and Cleveland HeartLab, we will provide new insights for empowering better health," Steve Rusckowski, chairman, president and CEO of Quest, said in a press release.
The Clinic launched Cleveland HeartLab in 2009 through Cleveland Clinic Innovations, which has spun off nearly 80 companies since its formation in 2000.
"I think any kind of exit is validation that an innovation from one of our staff members has translated into products that are helping patients," said Pete O'Neill, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations.
He characterized the deal with Quest as an "incredible opportunity" for the Clinic, for Cleveland HeartLab and for Northeast Ohio.
"They're committing to keeping and growing operations here in Northeast Ohio, which is again an important part of the work we are doing to build a healthcare commercial ecosystem," O'Neill said.
He likened the market success of Cleveland HeartLab to that of Explorys, a Clinic spinoff purchased by IBM in 2015 that remained in Cleveland.
"Quest wants to build on Cleveland HeartLab's approach and innovations, building on their success, so more people can benefit from what they've accomplished," Quest said in an emailed statement. "This transaction is about growing the innovations that Cleveland HeartLab has pioneered."
The company wouldn't comment on whether it will add jobs in Cleveland, saying plans still are in the early stages.