While biotech research tools developer Illumina Inc. won an administrative law case that moves ahead its effort to buy early cancer detection company Grail Inc., European regulators set the buyout in reverse Monday by rejecting the $7 billion acquisition.
Illumina stepped in to buy 400-employee Grail in 2020, as the Menlo Park company that Illumina spun out five years earlier plotted a $500 million initial public offering, but legal wrangling has persisted. Illumina said Tuesday it will begin reviewing strategic alternatives for Grail if an anticipated divestiture order from the EC is not stayed pending Illumina's appeal.Stat's Matthew Herper