Invitae
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Invitae was a San Francisco-based medical genetics company founded in 2012, spinning out of Genomic Health. It aimed to make comprehensive genetic information part of mainstream medicine, offering tests across hereditary cancer, cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, oncology and rare diseases to patients, providers and biopharma partners in over 25 countries. After an IPO in 2015 it expanded aggressively, acquiring Good Start Genetics and CombiMatrix in 2017, ArcherDX for $1.4 billion in 2020, and health records startup Ciitizen for $325 million in 2021. It never turned a profit. In February 2024 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and in May 2024 the court approved Labcorp's $239 million bid for substantially all of its assets.
02 / Invitae FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Invitae never achieved profitability: it reported a net loss of over $1.34 billion in just the first nine months of 2023, and its stock collapsed from a 2020 high of $56.60 to $0.019 before the NYSE began delisting proceedings. Costly acquisitions (ArcherDX at $1.4 billion, Ciitizen at $325 million) and thin reimbursement margins in genetic testing drained cash, forcing two rounds of layoffs in 2022–2023. When new capital could not be raised, the February 2024 Chapter 11 filing listed assets of $500 million–$1 billion against liabilities of $1 billion–$10 billion, leading to a court-supervised sale of the business.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded and IPO
Invitae spins out of Genomic Health as an independent genetics company and lists on the New York Stock Exchange in 2015.
- Acquisition spree
Invitae acquires ArcherDX for $1.4 billion (2020) and Ciitizen for $325 million (2021), alongside earlier acquisitions of Good Start Genetics and CombiMatrix.
- Chapter 11 filing
Invitae files for voluntary Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, listing assets of $500M–$1B against liabilities of $1B–$10B, and pursues a sale process.
- Labcorp wins auction
Labcorp is selected as winning bidder for substantially all of Invitae's assets at $239 million in cash plus other consideration; the court approves the sale on May 7, 2024, with closing expected in Q3 2024.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In February 2024 Invitae filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection and pursued a court-supervised Section 363 sale process to ensure business continuity.
- 02
On April 24, 2024 Labcorp was selected as the winning bidder with a $239 million cash bid for substantially all of the company's assets on a going concern basis, plus other non-cash consideration.
- 03
The bankruptcy court approved the sale on May 7, 2024; Labcorp and Invitae expected the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2024. Invitae was advised by Kirkland & Ellis (legal), Moelis & Company (investment banking) and FTI Consulting (financial).