LipoScience

About LipoScience

LipoScience, Inc. operated as a personalized diagnostics company, focusing on tests based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology to enhance patient care in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The company was established in 1993 and was founded by James D. Otvos. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, LipoScience directed its efforts towards developing and marketing new clinical applications of NMR spectroscopy.

The company's core business revolved around its proprietary diagnostic tests, primarily serving cardiologists, endocrinologists, and healthcare systems. Revenue was generated through the sale of these tests to clinical diagnostic laboratories and healthcare professionals. Its flagship product, the NMR LipoProfile® test, was a blood test that used NMR technology to directly measure the number of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles. This provided a more detailed risk assessment for heart disease than traditional cholesterol tests, which measure LDL cholesterol content. The test offered actionable information for physicians to create personalized management plans for patients at risk of heart disease. LipoScience's Vantera® Clinical Analyzer, an automated system for performing the NMR LipoProfile test, received FDA clearance, facilitating the decentralization of their technology.

After going public in January 2013 with an initial public offering of $45 million, the company faced challenges in gaining broader adoption and insurance coverage for its tests. These struggles, coupled with increased competition, led to financial difficulties. In September 2014, Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp) announced a definitive agreement to acquire LipoScience for $85.3 million. The acquisition was completed in November 2014, after which LipoScience ceased trading as a public company and became part of LabCorp, which was expected to expand the market reach of the NMR LipoProfile test through its extensive network.