Iceland’s NextCode Sold For 8.5 Billion

Chinese pharma company, WuXi PharmaTech, has acquired Icelandic genomic analysis firm NextCode Health, a subsidiary of DeCode, for 8.5 billion ISK (USD 65 million), reports Vísir.

Last year, WuXi tapped NextCode to provide analysis services to customers of the WuXi Genome Centre and now that the deal has gone through plans to merge NextCode with its genome centre to form a new company called WuXi NextCode Genomics.

Former DeCode Senior VP and NextCode CEO Hannes Smárason will stay on after the acquisition as Chief Operating Officer and the business will, going forward, be headquartered in Shanghai, with operations in Reykjavík and Cambridge, Mass.