Veracyte has acquired Convergent Genomics in a transaction valued at up to $180 million, adding the UroAmp urinary tumor DNA platform to its cancer diagnostics portfolio and expanding its ability to support bladder cancer treatment decisions using genomic information from urine, tissue and blood.
Veracyte will pay $150 million in upfront cash plus up to $30 million in additional cash consideration tied to milestones associated with UroAmp reimbursement efforts.
The acquisition brings Convergent’s proprietary urinary tumor DNA, or utDNA, technology into Veracyte’s portfolio.
UroAmp has been clinically validated in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, including applications involving therapy-response monitoring and surveillance following treatment.
Approximately 85,000 patients are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year in the U.S., according to Veracyte, including roughly 65,000 patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Of approximately 750,000 people living with bladder cancer in the U.S., around 600,000 have non-muscle invasive disease.
Because non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is generally confined to the bladder, only small quantities of tumor DNA may reach the bloodstream. This can create challenges for blood-based detection.
Urine comes into direct contact with the bladder and can therefore contain tumor-derived genomic information that may be useful in treatment and monitoring.
Veracyte plans to combine UroAmp with its existing Decipher Bladder and TrueMRD offerings to create complementary diagnostic capabilities across urine, tissue and blood.
UroAmp is supported by nine peer-reviewed publications and more than 40 posters and abstracts.
Veracyte’s first planned test using the technology is intended to help determine whether patients who have completed Bacillus Calmette-Guerin induction therapy are likely to benefit from maintenance treatment.
The company expects to commercialize that test in late 2028, subject to reimbursement timelines.
Veracyte also plans to investigate additional UroAmp applications, including monitoring during intravesical maintenance therapy and surveillance after treatment with curative intent.
In the multicenter prospective RUMBLE study published in The Journal of Urology, patients who were clinically negative after induction BCG treatment but tested positive for urinary tumor DNA had a 12-month recurrence-free survival rate of 25%, compared with 91% among patients who tested negative for utDNA.
Convergent Genomics was founded in 2015 in partnership with Oregon Health & Science University and Illumina Accelerator.
The company conducts research with more than 30 sites globally and operates a clinical laboratory in South San Francisco.
KEY QUOTES:
“UroAmp brings a differentiated urine-based platform that is especially well suited to non-muscle-invasive disease.”
“Together with our Decipher Bladder and TrueMRD tests, this acquisition strengthens Veracyte’s ability to deliver complementary insights from urine, tissue, and blood to help guide care across the bladder cancer continuum.”
Marc Stapley, CEO of Veracyte
“We believe this combination can help accelerate the development of new tools that give physicians greater confidence in treatment and monitoring decisions and can ultimately improve care for people living with bladder cancer.”
Brian Slingerland, CEO of Convergent Genomics
