Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings history, profile and corporate video
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company. Its national network of laboratories offers a broad range of clinical laboratory tests that are used by the medical profession in routine testing, patient diagnosis, and in the monitoring and treatment of disease. The company’s specialty testing operations comprises of oncology testing, HIV genotyping and phenotyping, diagnostic genetics and clinical trials. It also provides specialty testing services in the areas of allergy, clinical trials, diagnostic genetics, identity, forensics, infectious disease, oncology and occupational testing. LabCorp laboratories have been at the forefront of new molecular tests to diagnose, treat and manage disease, particularly in the areas of infectious disease, oncology and genetics. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.“
“LabCorp History
Many people think of LabCorp simply as the merger of Roche Biomedical Laboratories and National Health Laboratories in 1995. However, our roots extend back to 1905 when Hoffmann-La Roche began operations in the United States. Hoffmann-La Roche officially entered the lab business when it acquired the Kings County Research Laboratory in 1969. About the same time as Hoffmann-La Roche was purchasing Kings County Research Laboratory, Thomas Edward Powell III, and his twin brothers, Dr. James B. Powell and John Powell, were forming Biomedical Laboratories (later known as Biomedical Reference Laboratories) in a hospital basement in Burlington, NC. After a number of acquisitions, Hoffmann-La Roche acquired Biomedical Reference Laboratories in 1982. In 1983, Hoffmann-La Roche merged all of its laboratory companies into one company, which it called Roche Biomedical Laboratories (RBL).
Prior to the formation of RBL, Revlon, Inc. had also entered the laboratory business. After a few laboratory acquisitions, Revlon’s laboratory business adopted the name National Health Laboratories Incorporated (NHL) in 1974, and NHL was operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Revlon Holdings, Inc. NHL grew to $761 million in revenue by 1993. In 1994, NHL further broadened its laboratory testing capabilities by acquiring the sixth largest clinical lab in the US, Allied Clinical Health. By the mid 1990s NHL and RBL were two of the largest clinical, drug-screening, and paternity laboratories in the US.
In 1995, National Health Laboratories and Roche Biomedical Laboratories merged to become one of the largest clinical lab providers in the world. Initially led by Dr. James Powell, the new company – Laboratory Corporation of America – was headquartered in Burlington, NC. Over the last 10 years, LabCorp has continued to expand our esoteric and specialty laboratory testing capabilities by acquiring scientific leaders in the genomics, anatomic pathology, and personalized medicine arenas. In July 2000, LabCorp acquired Los Angeles-based National Genetics Institute, allowing LabCorp to gain NGI’s ultra-sensitive hepatitis C testing capability. In 2001, ViroMed, one of the leading laboratories in molecular microbial testing using real-time PCR platforms, became a part of LabCorp. LabCorp acquired Dynacare with locations in Washington, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Canada in June 2002. In 2005, LabCorp acquired Esoterix, Inc. and its leading specialty labs – Colorado Coagulation, Endocrine Sciences, and Cytometry Associates.
In conjunction with our investments in expanding our esoteric testing capabilities, LabCorp continues to invest in building the most robust anatomic pathology capabilities in the world. LabCorp further strengthened its anatomic pathology capabilities by acquiring DIANON Systems (now Dianon Pathology) in 2003 and US LABS in 2005. DIANON is distinguished for its capabilities in specific organ systems and clinical disciplines of uropathology, dermatopathology, and gastrointestinal pathology. US LABS’ extensive menu of esoteric oncology testing and expertise across multiple methodologies further balanced LabCorp’s anatomic pathology capabilities.
In 2006, LabCorp acquired Litholink, a premier provider for assisting physicians and their patients with outcomes management. The impact of these outcomes management programs in preventing disease recurrence or disease progression is impressive. More recently, LabCorp has expanded its clinical trials, personalized medicine, and companion diagnostic capabilities by purchasing Tandem Laboratories in 2008 and Monogram Biosciences in 2009. Tandem Laboratories is a leading bioanalytical and immunoanalytical contract research organization (CRO) supporting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with their discovery, preclinical, and clinical drug development programs. Monogram Biosciences is a recognized leader in the discovery and commercialization of products to guide and improve the treatment of HIV, cancer, and other serious diseases.
Effective December 1, 2010, LabCorp successfully completed its acquisition of Genzyme Genetics, a business unit of Genzyme Corporation. Genzyme Genetics is a leading provider of complex reproductive and oncology testing services. The addition of Genzyme Genetics substantially expands LabCorp’s capabilities in genetics and oncology services.
Under the terms of the Genzyme Genetics acquisition agreement, LabCorp obtained a license to use the Genzyme Genetics name for approximately one year, knowing that a new name would be introduced in 2012. LabCorp spent 2011 connecting Genzyme Genetics and LabCorp services in ways that enabled better client service and patient care and outcomes, while assessing potential name changes. We also spent significant time and resources determining the best way to harmonize the oncology capabilities in US LABS and Genzyme Genetics into a single offering. In January 2012 LabCorp announced the new name Integrated Genetics for the reproductive portion of Genzyme Genetics business. At the same time, the US LABS brand and Genzyme Genetics oncology brand will be further united under a new name, Integrated Oncology.
On December 15, 2011, LabCorp acquired Orchid Cellmark, Inc. (“Orchid”), harmonizing two experienced and highly-qualified forensics and family relationship laboratories. This acquisition further expanded LabCorp’s international presence as Orchid maintains DNA testing facilities both in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In April 2012, LabCorp announced the new global forensic brand nameCellMark Forensics, in recognition of our combined years of serving law enforcement and legal communities throughout the United States and the world. The new name represents a combination of the two solid brands – LabCorp Forensics Identity and Orchid Cellmark. Cellmark Forensics is a member of the LabCorp Specialty Testing Group, and serves as LabCorp’s premier, fully-accredited resource, focused exclusively on our market leading DNA testing expertise.
On July 31, 2012, LabCorp completed the acquisition of MEDTOX Scientific, Inc. (now “MedTox”), adding this premier organization to LabCorp’s group of specialized testing companies and strengthening our services in specialized toxicology and medical drug monitoring testing services.
Today, LabCorp operates a sophisticated laboratory network and logistics infrastructure, with more than 34,000 employees worldwide. Our 220,000 clients include physician offices, hospitals, managed care organizations, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. LabCorp accessions more than 400,000 samples per day and annually examines in excess of 10 million cytology and 2 million surgical pathology samples. We have continued to innovate internally and invest strategically in scientific excellence, and we continue to be passionate about patient care and quality. “
*Information from Forbes.com and Labcorp.com
**Video published on YouTube by “CareerDashTV“
