High-end diagnostics changing the face of medical testing industry
Last month, Strand Life Sciences, a Bengaluru-based specialty diagnostic company, bought the India operations of US-based medical diagnostic company, Quest Diagnostic. The takeover created ripples in the medical diagnostic industry in India. Quest had set shop some ten years ago and has an established routine testing business with many corporate clients. Strand is actually a spinoff from IISc Bangalore as a bioinformatics company. It bought out HCG’s diagnostic business in January, with a focus on oncology testing and now with Quest, it is emerging as a sophisticated end-to-end operator. The Quest acquisition offers a new service line, of routine testing, which is 80-90 per cent of the diagnostic market. The deal could make Strand a leader in the testing business. “Quest's corporate wellness testing and women health segments are stronger than ours. Our oncology, advanced diagnostics and genomics are stronger. Quest was stronger in the north, we are strong in the sout