Nasdaq-listed genetics and diagnostic health testing firm Prenetics has formed a $200-million joint venture named Insighta with a renowned molecular biologist, making it the largest private life-sciences deal in the history of Hong Kong as well as in Asia this year.
Prenetics will own 50% of the JV, while molecular biologist Dennis Lo’s party will take the other half of the equity stake. Insighta will be governed by a six-person board of directors composed of three directors from each side — Lo will serve as the chairman, while Danny Yeung, co-founder and CEO of Prenetics, will take the helm as the CEO, according to a company release on Monday.
Lo is known for its revolution in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and liquid biopsy. Since its introduction in 2011, the NIPT technology has been used in over 90 countries, helping over 10 million expectant mothers undergo screening for birth defects in a safe and less stressful way.
Prenetics, which went public last May via a $1.7-billion- SPAC merger with Artisan Acquisitions, will be injecting $100 million into the JV, with $80 million in cash and $20 million via Prenetics stock. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the clinical trials and commercialisation of the breakthrough in early cancer detection technology.
“FRAGMA”, a new breakthrough technology published by Lo in 2022, will be the key technology driving Insighta forward in the field of multi-cancer early-detection screening. Compared with other techniques, the technology is more accurate, simpler in the workflow, and more cost-effective, per Lo.
The Presight test refers to the clinically-administered blood test that will be initially focus on liver and lung cancer. It will be available in Mainland China and Hong Kong in 2025, with a target price of less than $200 per test, according to a report by local outlet South China Morning Post.
The Presight test will commence its multi-country 5,000-patient clinical trial in early 2024; while Presight One, a multi-cancer early detection test capable of detecting more than 10 different cancers, is targeting to launch in 2027.
The news comes almost six months after Prenetics acquired a majority stake in ACT Genomics, a Nasdaq-listed company specialising in precision oncology in Asia, last December as the Hong Kong-based firm looks to build an ecosystem extending beyond COVID-19 testing.