Adaptive Biotechnologies Plans to Split Business to Focus on MRD Testing
The Seattle-based company said it is evaluating “strategic and structural alternatives” for its immune medicine business that would take the unit outside of Adaptive.
Adaptive Biotechnologies announced on June 15 that it intends to separate its minimal residual disease (MRD) testing and immune medicine businesses.
“As we look ahead, Adaptive will focus on expanding its leadership in MRD diagnostics, while pursuing the optimal path for Immune Medicine outside of Adaptive. We believe this separation is the best way to unlock the full potential of both businesses
The Seattle-based company said it expects to identify its preferred path to separation by the end of the year.
Adaptive established MRD and Immune Medicine as separate operating segments in 2024. “The progress achieved by both businesses has reinforced that decision,” Robins noted. The MRD business, built around the clonoSEQ test, has since reached profitability, with revenue growing from $103 million in 2023 to $212 million in 2025. The company said clonoSEQ is integrated into more than 175 electronic medical record accounts and is active in more than 180 biopharma trials.
The immune medicine business has assembled a dataset of more than 6 million functional T-cell receptor (TCR)-antigen pairs and characterized data on more than 10,000 patients. The company said the unit is focused on identifying pathogenic TCRs and the disease-causing antigens they bind, with a focus on autoimmune diseases. Adaptive said the immune medicine unit’s value may be better realized outside of a diagnostic commercial model.
Adaptive officials said that “creating two separate public companies is the one option they are not considering,” according to Guggenheim Securities Analyst Subbu Nambi in a June 15 note to investors. She added that they did not comment on whether the MRD business had become an acquisition target.
The company noted that there is no assurance that the process will result in a transaction and does not intend to disclose further developments unless it determines additional disclosure is appropriate or required.
Shares of Adaptive fell 7 percent to $16.18 in June 15 after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.
