Inverness agrees to buy drug testing lab

Globe Staff

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a Waltham company embarked on an acquisitions strategy as it looks to build itself into a big player in the field of point-of-care diagnostics, said it is looking to make another purchase.

 Inverness said it has agreed to pay $110 million to buy the substance abuse testing division of Kroll Inc., a subsidiary of Marsh and McLennan Cos.

An Inverness press release about the proposed purchase of Kroll Laboratory Specialists division included a statement from Inverness chief executive Ron Zwanziger, who noted that the drug-abuse testing market continues to "demonstrate strong global growth potential."

"We believe that this acquisition will deepen the range of products and services we offer the government, employers, health plans, and health-care professionals through our existing channels," Zwanziger said.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter, Inverness said.