The new entity will retain the New Day Diagnostics name, and both companies’ teams will unite under a unified leadership structure headquartered in Knoxville. New Day Diagnostics will be a tenant in the new Innovation South Building currently going up at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm.

Knoxville-based EDP Biotech Corporation and New Day Diagnostics LLC, located in Boca Raton, FL, have announced that they are combining their respective assets to form a vertically integrated force in the expedited development and commercialization of diagnostic tests sector.

The new entity will retain the New Day Diagnostics name, and both companies’ teams will unite under a unified leadership structure headquartered in Knoxville. Eric Mayer, EDP Biotech’s current President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will serve in the same role for the combined entity, while Navroze Mehta, Founder and CEO of New Day, will serve as Executive Chairman.

The merger is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

What’s the impact on Knoxville?

“New jobs, new opportunities for underserved populations in Appalachia as well as elsewhere, and more capital,” Mayer said during a Friday interview. “It’s a key part of growing life sciences in Knoxville.”

By the end of 2023, the new entity expects an employment base of 30, growing to 40 by the end of 2024. All are expected to be high wage roles.

The strategic union brings together EDP Biotech’s position as an established and growing specialty diagnostic developer and Contract Research Organization (CRO) with New Day Diagnostics’ robust pipeline of diversified diagnostic tests and commercialization capabilities.

The shared vision of the merger is empowering patients through affordable access to diagnostic testing leading to earlier intervention. By combining their complementary expertise and resources, EDP Biotech and New Day Diagnostics aim to establish a uniquely positioned company capable of drastically improving patient lives via world-class diagnostics offerings.

The strategic merger positions the newly formed entity as an innovator throughout the entire diagnostic process, from biomarker discovery to product launch. Leveraging vertical integration and strategic partnerships, the merged company will have the ability to design, develop, and deploy diagnostic tests with efficiency and quality.

Mayer used three words that begin with the letter D to describe the overall vision. The first D is for designing new products, the second involves developing them, and the third is deploying those new products.

“We will eventually have products in drug stores,” he said.

EDP Biotech was founded in 2005 by Tom Boyd. It is probably best known for ColoPlex™, an aid in diagnosis for early detection of colorectal cancers and polyps. In recent years, the company has served a growing roster of diagnostic clients with its full-service CRO focused on In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD), development, testing, and commercialization. EDP Biotech also operates a CLIA-certified lab providing business-to-business and direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing, multiplex assays, research, and validation services.

New Day brings a diversified pipeline of physician Point-of-Care and Physician Mediated-DTC tests to the combined entity. These include a first-to-market DTC celiac disease test and additional offerings targeting infectious diseases, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer.

“We are focused on four areas,” Mayer said. They are cancer, infectious diseases, digestive diseases, and a new one – women’s health.

Discussions between the two companies began eight or nine months ago. New Day was a client of EDP Biotech, and “we got to know them very well,” Mayer said. That suggested doing more clinical trials together so they could bring more products to consumers and healthcare professionals faster.

Those conversations heated-up in November when the two leadership teams and boards of directors met at EDP Biotech’s offices on Baum Drive. By December, all of the critical and frequently sticky issues had been addressed.

EDP Biotech merges with New Day Diagnostics