August 19, 2015 12:19pm EDT
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MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE:OPK) today announced that it has entered into
agreements with Stratose, Three Rivers Provider Network and Fortified
Provider Network for testing services from OPKO Lab, including the
4Kscore®Test, the only blood test that accurately identifies an
individual patient’s risk for high-grade, aggressive cancer. The
cumulative contracts, with some of the largest healthcare PPO network
providers in the U.S., will give over 25 million people access to the
testing services of OPKO Lab.
“These agreements demonstrate the value of the portfolio of testing
services offered by OPKO Lab, including the 4Kscore Test,” said David
Okrongly, Ph.D., President of OPKO Diagnostics. “We are gratified at the
growing acceptance by health plan customers of the value offered to
patients and physicians by the 4Kscore Test and our other testing
services. We look forward to providing these services to their network
participants.”
OPKO Lab, a full service urological testing laboratory, is the provider
of the 4Kscore Test. The 4Kscore Test is the only blood test that
accurately identifies an individual patient’s risk for high-grade,
aggressive cancer and is now included in the NCCN 2015 Guidelines for
Prostate Cancer Early Detection.
“The expansion of insurance coverage for our proprietary tests such as
the 4Kscore Test is a major focus for OPKO,” said Phillip Frost, M.D.,
OPKO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We expect insurance
coverage to further accelerate after the closing of the pending
Bio-Reference Laboratories acquisition.”
About the 4Kscore Test
The 4Kscore Test is the only blood test that accurately identifies an
individual patient’s risk for aggressive prostate cancer, the lethal
form of prostate cancer. The 4Kscore Test uses a proprietary algorithm
that incorporates the blood levels of four different prostate-derived
kallikrein proteins, Total PSA, Free PSA, Intact PSA and Human
Kallikrein-2 (hK2), plus the patient's age, Digital Rectal Exam (DRE)
status (nodule / no nodule) and prior negative biopsy status (yes / no)
to calculate the percentage risk (probability) of finding a Gleason
Score 7 or higher grade of prostate cancer. The four kallikrein panel of
biomarkers utilized in the 4Kscore Test is based on over a decade of
research conducted by scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center and leading European institutions and is established as a
recommended standard of care in the 2015 NCCN Prostate Cancer Early
Detection Guidelines. The 4Kscore Test provides individualized risk for
the presence of aggressive prostate cancer and adds new information to
the shared decision making discussion between the urologist and the
patient.
About OPKO Health
OPKO is a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that
seeks to establish industry-leading positions in large, rapidly growing
markets by leveraging its discovery, development and commercialization
expertise and novel and proprietary technologies. For more information,
visit http://www.opko.com .
Important Information For Investors And Shareholders
This communication does not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or a solicitation
of any vote or approval. This communication relates to a proposed
business combination between Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc.
("Bio-Reference Laboratories") and OPKO Health, Inc. ("OPKO"). In
connection with this proposed business combination, Bio-Reference
Laboratories and/or OPKO have and will file relevant materials with the
Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including an OPKO
registration statement on Form S-4, which was filed with the SEC on July
2, 2015, was amended by Amendment No. 1 on July 15, 2015, and was
declared effective on July 17, 2015, and a definitive proxy
statement/prospectus in connection with the proposed transaction, which
was filed by Bio-Reference Laboratories and OPKO on July 20, 2015.
Bio-Reference Laboratories first mailed the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus to Bio-Reference Laboratories shareholders on July
20, 2015. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF BIO-REFERENCE LABORATORIES
AND OPKO ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND
OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR
ENTIRETY AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION.
Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the
definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the
SEC by Bio-Reference Laboratories and/or OPKO through the website
maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov .
Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Bio-Reference Laboratories
are available free of charge on Bio-Reference Laboratories' website at http://www.bioreference.com
or by contacting Bio-Reference Laboratories' Investor Relations
Department by email at tmackay@bioreference.com
or by phone at (201) 791-2600. Copies of the documents filed with the
SEC by OPKO are available free of charge on OPKO's website at www.opko.com
or by contacting OPKO's Investor Relations Department by email at contact@opko.com
or by phone at (305) 575-4100.
Participants in Solicitation
Bio-Reference Laboratories, OPKO, their respective directors and
certain of their respective executive officers may be considered
participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the
proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive
officers of Bio-Reference Laboratories is set forth in its Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2014, which was filed with
the SEC on January 13, 2015, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended April 30, 2015 which was filed with the SEC on June 9,
2015 and its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which were filed with the SEC
on March 5, 2015, April 29, 2015, June 4, 2015, June 8, 2015, June 10,
2015, June 11, 2015 and August 10, 2015. Information about the directors
and executive officers of OPKO is set forth in its amended Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which was filed with
the SEC on February 27, 2015 and April 30, 2015, its proxy statement for
its 2015 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on
May 7, 2015, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 31, 2015 which was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2015 and its
Current Reports on Form 8-K, which were filed with the SEC on March 19,
2015, June 4, 2015, June 9, 2015, June 10, 2015, June 18, 2015 and July
2, 2015.
These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources
indicated above. Additional information regarding the participants in
the proxy solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect
interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the
definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed
with the SEC.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication regarding the proposed
acquisition of Bio-Reference Laboratories by OPKO, including any
statements regarding the expected timetable for completing the proposed
transaction, synergies, benefits and opportunities of the proposed
transaction, future opportunities for the combined company and products,
future financial performance and any other statements regarding OPKO's
and Bio-Reference Laboratories' future expectations, beliefs, plans,
objectives, financial conditions, assumptions or future events or
performance that are not historical facts are "forward-looking"
statements made within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. The words "anticipate," "believe," "ensure," "expect,"
"if," "intend," "estimate," "probable," "project," "forecasts,"
"predict," "outlook," "aim," "will," "could," "should," "would,"
"potential," "may," "might," "anticipate," "likely" "plan,"
"positioned," "strategy," and similar expressions, and the negative
thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking information are subject to numerous risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Bio-Reference
Laboratories and OPKO, that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: failure
to obtain the required vote of Bio-Reference Laboratories' shareholders;
the timing to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that a
condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or
that the closing of the proposed transaction might otherwise not occur;
the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the
proposed transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to
conditions that are not anticipated; the diversion of management time on
transaction-related issues; ability to successfully integrate the
businesses; risk that the transaction and its announcement could have an
adverse effect on Bio-Reference Laboratories' ability to retain
customers and retain and hire key personnel; the risk that any potential
synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take
longer to realize than expected; new information arising out of clinical
trial results; and the risk that the safety and/or efficacy results of
existing clinical trials will not support continued clinical
development, as well as risks inherent in funding, developing and
obtaining regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and
competitive products and treatments. In addition, forward-looking
statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors,
competitive product development, product availability, federal and state
regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and
indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and
litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements
contained in this communication may become outdated over time. OPKO and
Bio-Reference Laboratories do not assume any responsibility for updating
any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these
and other factors can be found in Bio-Reference Laboratories' and OPKO's
respective filings with the SEC and available through the SEC's
Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval system at www.sec.gov ,
including Bio-Reference Laboratories' and OPKO's most recent Annual
Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports
on Form 8-K and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus. The foregoing
list of important factors is not exclusive. Bio-Reference Laboratories
and OPKO assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of
the date hereof.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150819005939/en/
OPKO Health, Inc.
David Okrongly, 305-575-4133
Source: OPKO Health, Inc.
Released August 19, 2015
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