Canadian life sciences company SQI Diagnostics explores sale

Canadian life sciences company SQI Diagnostics Inc today said that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale or merger.

SQI said it has appointed a special committee and hired investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald as its advisor, said that it will review the interests it has received.

''The Special Committee was appointed to review interest from a number of parties relating to a possible merger or sale of the company. The company intends to continue to actively explore these and other alternatives, including strategic alliances, said the Toronto-based company in a statement.

SQI is a life sciences company that develops and commercialises proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray diagnostics.

The company's proprietary microarray tests and fully-automated systems are designed to simplify protein and antibody testing workflow, increase throughput, reduce costs and provide data quality.

Its proprietary technologies help diagnostic laboratories that perform autoimmune testing by providing laboratories to simultaneously analyse multiple biomarkers, deliver accurate and quantitative patient results in less time.

SQI has received regulatory clearance to market its qualitative rheumatoid arthritis and celiac assays in the US, qualitative and quantitative rheumatoid arthritis and celiac assays in Canada, and quantitative rheumatoid arthritis and celiac assays in the European Union.

Last year, SQI backed off from its proposed acquisition of German microarray company Scienion.