Precision Therapeutics (NSDQ:AIPT) said today it inked a letter of intent to acquire the remaining equity in Helomics, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Precision Therapeutics, which currently owns 25% of Helomics, said that it will acquire the remaining 75% equity stake in the company. Precision Therapeutics said it is hopeful that a new merger agreement will be signed by May 15.
Helomics developed and maintains the D-Chip database which contains de-identified data from clinical tests of tumor responses to drugs and uses artificial intelligence powered bioinformatics to generate insights from the data, Precision Therapeutics said.
The acquisition will provide Precision Therapeutics full access to Helomics artificial intelligence, precision diagnostic and integrated CRO capabilities to improve patient care. The company added that it hopes the addition will make it more competitive in the precision oncology department, and will drive revenue generation for the current year.
“Increasing our ownership of Helomics Corporation from 25% to 100% will advance our strategy to expand our portfolio and diversify our revenue streams. We are very excited by this opportunity to further entrench ourselves in the precision oncology market, which is a rapidly evolving new clinical paradigm and has the potential to transform the way we diagnose and treat cancer patients. Helomics is at the forefront of this, with its one-of-a-kind dataset of 149,000 tumor profiles, supported by its D-CHIP AI-based bioinformatics capabilities and CLIA laboratory. We look forward to advancing this transaction and playing a leading role in adoption of precision medicine in oncology,” Precision Therapeutics CEO Dr. Carl Schwartz said in a press release.
Last month, Precision Therapeutics, formerly known as Skyline Medical, said it converted a previous $500,000 loan with Helomics into a 5% equity stake, bringing the company’s ownership in Helomics up to 25%.
In January, Precision Therapeutics purchased preferred stock in Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Helomics convertible into a 20% stake.
