Conversant Bio, Folio Bio, Legacy Discovery Life Sciences, and Phylogeny make up Discovery Life Sciences, a biospecimen analysis and procurement group for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostics industries.
The new company will leverage its respective consultative services along with a repository of more than 10m research-quality biospecimens—all available and processed for analysis.
Glenn Bilawsky CEO of Discovery told us, “We believe that our knowledge and innovative approach will accelerate the time from discovery through validation to commercialization of novel biomarkers, drug candidates, medical devices, and diagnostics.”
The company will focus on oncology, cardiology, neurology, as well as infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases.
Per the merger, the company’s newly combined catalog includes normal, suspect, and disease-state specimens. Including specimens of rare diseases and racially and ethnically diverse exemplars.
Discovery obtains these biosamples through its global, integrated network of more than 165 clinical sources, in 25 countries on six continents – Discovery Partners. Bilawsky said that these partners are “the route to hundreds of thousands of patients.” The company collaborates with a network of hospitals, medical centers, blood banks, clinical laboratories, and community-based medical practices.
The company stated that it can study specimens on all research and diagnostic platforms as an ISO 9001-certified company with CLIA-certified labs, IRB and Ethics Committee compliance, and all required EU approvals and certifications.
The merger was facilitated by Water Street Healthcare Partners, which also invested in the company.