Molecular cytology diagnostics company Veracyte has acquired Massachusetts-based Allegro Diagnostics for $21 million. Allegro’s primary focus is developing lung cancer tests, and Veracyte plans to launch Allegro’s leading product in the second half of next year.

Veracyte President and CEO Bonnie Anderson said the deal will “accelerate our entry into the pulmonary market” and secure the company’s role in molecular cytology. It also gives Allegro a vehicle for commercializing and gaining reimbursement for its lung cancer test, Allegro CEO Michael Webb said.

The test helps doctors determine which patients with lung nodules, who have had a nondiagnostic bronchoscopy, are at low risk for cancer and can be safely monitored with CT scans rather than undergoing invasive procedures, according to Allegro. It is performed on cell samples obtained through a minimally invasive bronchoscopy procedure.

The test’s performance was established in two prospective, multicenter clinical validation studies involving 25 centers and nearly 1,000 patients. — Kellen Owings

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