Willow Labs acquired by Ampersand

LYNN ? Willow Laboratories, a Lynn-based provider of alcohol and drugs-of-abuse toxicology testing services, has been acquired by Ampersand Capital Partners.Willow, located on Union Street, was founded in 1995. It is state and federally licensed and provides urine, hair and saliva testing services to healthcare providers including treatment centers, physician practices and other laboratories.Attempts to contact Willow about the changes were unsuccessful, but in a PRNewswire release, delivered via the Associated Press, Ampersand is described as a Boston-based private equity firm with a focus on middle market growth equity investments in the Healthcare sector.Gail Marcus is the new president and chief executive officer. She’s experienced in the area of building successful healthcare service organizations. Prior to coming to Willow, she was CEO of Caris Diagnostics (now Miraca Life Sciences).Marcus also serves as president and CEO of Calloway Laboratories, which has also signed an agreement to be acquired by Ampersand.”I am excited to be working with the Willow and Calloway management teams and look forward to sharing strengths and resources across the companies in order to provide clients the most complete set of toxicology services available in the marketplace,” Marcus saidJared Bartok, general manager at Ampersand, called Willow a “key piece” of their strategy to invest in the multi-billion dollar toxicology lab industry.Bartok said with the infusion of addition capital and management resources, Willow is “well positioned to capitalize on future growth opportunities.”