Inverness buy brings health management line

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a disease diagnostics firm headquartered in Waltham, reports it plans to buy a Nevada-based health-management firm for $302 million in cash and stock.

Inverness officials report the acquisition of Alere Medical Inc., of Reno, marks the buyer's entry into the health management business. Alere provides health monitoring and nursing services for patients in their homes, with expertise in tracking the health of patients with chronic heart problems.

Ron Zwanziger, CEO of Inverness, said Alere's focus on heart-failure monitoring would complement cardiac diagnostics under development at a San Diego-based firm Inverness recently acquired, Biosite Inc., and its Stirling Medical Innovations unit in Scotland.

Inverness plans to purchase Alere with $125 million in cash and $177 million in Inverness common stock, officials report. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of this year.

Inverness reported a 2006 net loss of $16.8 million on revenue of $569.5 million. The firm says it employs 200 workers in Massachusetts.

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