Dive Brief:
- Labcorp said Tuesday it has acquired MLM Medical Labs to add global central laboratory and biomarker capabilities for clinical trials.
- MLM is a global central and specialty laboratory provider with operations in the U.S., Germany and South Africa.
- The deal makes Labcorp the only central laboratory provider with a wholly owned lab network across four continents, the acquiring company said. Neither party disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
Dive Insight:
MLM has labs in Memphis and Mönchengladbach, Germany, plus a subsidiary called Cytespace Africa Laboratories in South Africa. The company, which was originally based in Mönchengladbach, acquired the Memphis site in its 2020 takeover of CirQuest Labs and added further U.S. capacity by buying MD Biosciences later that year. MLM bought Cytespace last year to add capacity in Africa.
Using the global footprint, MLM creates and validates laboratory developed tests to support specialized clinical and translational research. The capabilities overlap with the central laboratory infrastructure that Labcorp has built up through deals such as its $6.1 billion takeover of Covance.
Buying MLM gives Labcorp a wholly owned laboratory network that spans North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, where the acquired company runs the first fully CAP-accredited central lab. Labcorp also named MLM’s scientific and regulatory expertise, as well as its biomarker and specialty testing capabilities, as drivers of the deal, noting that they equip it to support complex clinical trial programs.
Labcorp spent $528.6 million, net of cash acquired, on takeovers in the first half of 2026. In late June, Labcorp agreed to pay a further $155 million for select assets of an outreach laboratory services business. That deal is scheduled to close this quarter. Acquisitions, net of divestitures, added 1.2% to Labcorp’s growth in the second quarter.
Labcorp, an active dealmaker in recent years, has primarily acquired assets from regional labs to expand its U.S. footprint. In the second quarter, the company acquired Parkview Health assets in Indiana and Ohio, and expanded in Oklahoma and Texas by buying Tribal Diagnostics. The MLM deal supports a different part of Labcorp’s business, expanding its support for the sponsors of clinical trials.
In the second quarter, Labcorp’s central lab service sales grew 9.8% year over year. The result contributed to Labcorp’s decision to raise the forecast for full-year sales at its biopharma laboratory services division.
