Source BioScience completes £18.5m strategic acquisition of LDPath Ltd to reimagine the future of pathology by combining cellular and digital pathology platforms

• Completes £18.5m strategic acquisition of LDPath Ltd
• Creates the largest and most technically advanced private provider of cellular and digital pathology services in the UK
• Digitises diagnostic pathways, leading to faster diagnosis and helping clear backlog of elective surgeries as a result of the pandemic
• Provides access to largest second opinion network with access to multidisciplinary teams (MDT)s
• IP created with focus on digital pathology and artificial intelligence (AI) to reimagine pathology services delivery

Nottingham, UK, 08 March 2022:  SourceBio International plc (AIM:SBI; “Source”), a leading international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products, announces that it has agreed to purchase the entire issued capital of LDPath Limited (“LDP”), a London based leader in Digital Pathology testing services.

Source provides ISO15189 certified and UKAS accredited diagnostic testing and cellular pathology services to the NHS and other healthcare providers offering tailored solutions within its histopathology services, from wets to report, dependent on needs.

LDP has built its own intellectual property (“IP”) to pioneer the creation of a Digital Pathology platform which is already being successfully rolled out and adopted in the marketplace. Their technology-enabled offering has been adopted within both private healthcare providers and NHS trusts and is highly complementary to Source’s strategic direction and its own digital approach.

The enlarged Group targets the conversion of both NHS and private clients to the technologically enabled Digital Pathology offering and to introduce opportunities for the use of AI in the digital platform. This will further streamline the reporting of more routine pathology cases, ensure the highest quality of reporting and reduce carbon emissions as a result of lower transportation requirements. The enlarged Group believes that, with the LDP acquisition, it will be very well placed to seek and secure nationwide-scale contracts with private healthcare providers and in the future to unveil its plan for further expansion. 

The combined Source LDPath pathology workflow, with its market-leading digital and AI pathology services and link to further in-house precision medicine tests, provides a complete patient journey from first consultant contact to diagnosis. This enhanced capacity is a strategic move to accelerate the growth and strength of Source’s leadership in cellular pathology and will further enable its commitment to support the sector globally.

Jay LeCoque, Executive Chairman, commented: "LDPath is a perfect fit with our existing Cellular Pathology business, elevating the combined businesses to a dominant position in the marketplace. The market opportunity is huge, evidenced by the continued shortage of pathologists and addressing the NHS backlog of elective surgeries that HM Government has prioritised. With the client base increasingly looking for a Digital Pathology solution and us having a strong presence in both NHS and private healthcare markets, Source is very well poised to capitalise on growth opportunities and leading the migration to Digital Pathology. I am absolutely thrilled to welcome the entire LDPath team to Source as we work together to lead and reimagine the Cellular Pathology marketplace."

Dr Alistair Robson, founder and principal shareholder of LDPath added: “LDPath is very excited to join Source, which brings together two healthcare business models in what can only be a synergistic development. LDPath and Source market strengths are complementary, and the resultant combined organisation is superbly placed to provide a full solution to the shortage of pathology services, from digital diagnosis by experts benefiting from AI algorithms, to advanced molecular analyses. Digital pathology has been central to our business, leading to our winning the only UK NHS digital pathology implementation and reporting tender to date. Continued technical and software investments will bring NHS and private pathology into the 21st century, revolutionise the way pathology services are delivered and significantly contribute to greater efficiency in managing workloads across the UK, at a period of unparalleled NHS strain.”

Contacts:

SourceBio International plc                                     www.sourcebiointernational.com

Jay LeCoque, Executive Chairman and CEO        

Klaudyna Johnstone, Marketing Director

INVESTOR RELATIONS  

Walbrook PR Limited

Tel: 020 7933 8780 or sourcebio@walbrookpr.com

MEDIA QUERIES

External Communications

marketing@sourcebioscience.com

About SourceBio International plc www.sourcebiointernational.com

SourceBio is a leading international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products with clients in the healthcare, clinical, life science research and biopharma industries, with a focus on improving patient diagnosis, management and care. Group revenues are derived from four business units:

• Healthcare Diagnostics - histopathology cancer screening and clinical diagnostic services for the NHS and private healthcare across the UK and Ireland.
• Genomics - DNA sequencing services and Precision Medicine offering for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academia, contract research organisations (CROs) and other research groups in the UK, Europe and North America.
• Stability Storage - shelf-life testing services and equipment for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract manufacturers and analytical testing companies from around the world but primarily in the UK, Ireland and the USA
• Infectious Disease Testing - a range of COVID-19 testing services for commercial enterprises, private healthcare groups and the NHS. Utilising multiple technologies, SourceBio offers screening, gold standard RT-PCR and whole genome sequencing COVID-19 testing solutions and operates under ISO 15189 accreditation. SourceBio also provides employee testing solutions to industry, direct to consumer home test kits and venue testing.

More details on Group operations can be found here: www.sourcebioscience.com

SourceBio International plc (SBI) is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

About LDPath Limited (“LDPath”)

Established in 2017, LDPath is one of the top private histopathology providers in the United Kingdom.

• LDPath provides rapid histopathology reporting by specialist pathologists, delivering a surgical pathology service to NHS hospitals and private healthcare providers
• Intelligent Laboratory Information System (“LIMS”): LDPath’s bespoke LIMS application sends real time case status notifications, encrypted to the highest level, for secure access. LDPath designed its LIMS Application to be intuitive and fast with a degree of automation to facilitate workflow. Functionality is available for pathologists, clinicians, laboratories and hospitals
• LDPath designed LIMS with the needs of its users in mind, encrypted to the highest level and can be accessed via secure connection, once authorised, reports are made available immediately online notified by automated email, and case status can be traced as soon as specimens or slides are received
• As one of the pioneers of digital scanning technology in histopathology, approximately 75% of LDPath’s team report digitally and, with its unique integrated second opinion feature, international expertise can be sought and delivered very quickly
• LDPath currently report every major discipline of surgical pathology including: Dermatology, GI, Gynaecology, Breast, Urology, Ear Nose & Throat as well as Head & Neck
• LDPath is engaged with approximately 80 specialist consultant pathologists with approximately 75% of results reported digitally