With Genoptix, Novartis Continues Its Diagnostics Build-up

Novartis AG's $440 million cash tender offer for cancer testing lab Genoptix Inc. is another sign of the pharma giant's intent to build a full-blown molecular diagnostics business. [See Deal] The acquisition adds more muscle to its two-and-a-half-year-old Novartis Molecular Diagnostics unit. Just months after GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric Co., grabbed up Clarient Inc. for $570 million, the deal is also another example of the perceived value of a specialty cancer services testing capability for an organization looking to bolster its channel access to oncologists and pathologists. [See Deal]