EDX Medical Group Plc announces acquisition of Torax Biosciences Ltd

EDX Medical Group plc, (“EDX Medical” or the “Company”), which develops innovative digital diagnostic products and services for cancer, heart disease, neurology and infectious disease testing, today announces that it has acquired Torax Biosciences Ltd., a research company providing product development and pilot scale fabrication of immune-assays and diagnostic testing solutions.

Torax becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDX Medical and will provide an experienced point-of-care diagnostics technical team with proven skills in innovation and new product development. Torax will also provide additional UK laboratory capacity in Northern Ireland in support of EDX’s established laboratories in Cambridge.

The Torax business operates under ISO 9001 and ISO-13485 accredited quality systems for IVD product design, development, manufacture and commercialisation. Torax’s expertise and facilities complement the EDX laboratory PCR and genomic sequencing tests which are provided under ISO 15189. The quality systems of the combined group provide assurance for both point-of-care and laboratory test solutions delivered by EDX Medical.

Torax was founded by and is led by Dr Lawrence McGrath, a recognised expert in the field of diagnostic and immuno-chemistry, who joins EDX as a Senior Development Scientist and will continue to lead Torax as a director of Torax as an EDX subsidiary.

Professor Sir Chris Evans, Founder of EDX Medical, said: “We are delighted to announce this strategic acquisition of Torax at exceptionally good value It will add further strength and depth to EDX’s innovation and product development capabilities. This enables us to provide an even wider range of testing solutions and data analysis. The Torax knowledge and capabilities in immunochemistry will accelerate our development of robust and innovative tests for cancer and other significant diseases.”

Dr Lawrence McGrath, CEO of Torax, said: “We have a great deal of knowledge in terms of product design and innovation and we are now able to move our company to a new level as part of the EDX Medical Group. This is an important step for us and we look forward to contributing further to this exciting clinical sector.”

The acquisition of Torax follows the announcement in late last year by EDX Medical of a collaborative cancer biomarker programme that will improve access to cost-effective and reliable tests for a range of cancers in the UK and Europe.

The programme is a result of a partnership between EDX Medical and Tianjin Bioscience Diagnostic Technology Co. Ltd (“Bioscience”), an internationally active, ISO 13485-certified research-based manufacturer of diagnostic products and reagents. EDX was selected by Bioscience as its lead partner to validate and commercialise its suite of internationally recognised cancer biomarkers in Europe.