Thermo Fisher to acquire company with COVID-19 test

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO, 1.66% are up 1.3% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company said it will spend $450 million in cash to acquire Mesa Biotech Inc., a privately held medical testing company. It will also pay the company up to $100 million in additional milestone payments. Mesa has developed several tests, including a molecular diagnostic test for COVID-19 that has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.