Laboratory Corporation of America (Burlington, N.C.) has agreed to acquire molecular diagnostics company Monogram Biosciences (South San Francisco, Calif.) in a deal valued at $155 million, the companies announced this morning. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009.

According to the merger agreement, LabCorp will acquire all outstanding shares of Monogram in a cash tender offer for $4.55 per share for an implied total equity value of approximately $106.7 million, or a total enterprise value of approximately $155 million as of March 31, which is includes net indebtedness.

Monogram is best known for its pharmacogenomic tests or companion diagnostics. Its Trofile assay can be used to can assist physicians in determining whether a patient with a history of HIV drug resistance will respond to the class of antiretroviral therapies known as CCR5 antagonist entry inhibitors. Last week, Quest Diagnostics (Madison, N.J.) launched its own lab-developed HIV tropism test that will compete directly with Trofile.

Monogram's test portfolio also includes its PhenoSense and PhenoSense GT HIV resistance tests. The company's oncology products include a propietary method to assess HER-2 status in tissue samples.

In a statement issued today, LabCorp CEO David King called the deal "a significant step in the execution of LabCorp's strategy of leadership in personalized medicine." He added, "By utilizing LabCorp's national infrastructure to build on Monogram's already strong sales, we will advance our leadership in infectious disease and cancer testing, companion diagnostics, and personalized medicine."

For more on this deal, see the July issue of Laboratory Industry Report.