bioMérieux launches VITEK® 2 Compact, its new solution for rapid identification of micro-organisms

bioMérieux launches VITEK® 2 Compact, its new solution for rapid identification of micro-organisms

Marcy l’Etoile, France - February 10, 2005. bioMérieux, a major player in the field of microbiological controls for the pharmaceutical and agri-food industries, introduces VITEK®2 Compact, the newest addition to its range of automated identification systems.
 

Featuring an expanded database containing over 330 species of microorganisms and new identification cards, VITEK 2 Compact offers enhanced identification capabilities. In a minimum amount of time (2 to 14 hours), it identifies the vast majority of microorganisms that contaminate production areas and final products.

Therefore, VITEK 2 Compact allows pharmaceutical and agri-food testing laboratories to better anticipate contamination-related risks and act quickly early in production to ensure product quality before going to market.

In addition, the VITEK 2 Compact software allows accurate and reliable tracking of all analysis steps in accordance with the recommendations of international validation bodies.

Finally, VITEK 2 Compact is a flexible system that makes it possible for laboratories to fully and safely automate manual tasks for increased efficiency.

First launched on the U.S. and French industrial markets in December 2004, VITEK 2 Compact will be progressively commercialized in all other countries.

About bioMérieux:

bioMerieux is a leading international group that specializes in the field of in vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial applications (quality control in the agri-food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries). bioMérieux designs, develops, manufactures and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and software) used in:

• Clinical applications: the diagnosis of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses, as well as pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, based on the analysis of biological samples (such as blood, saliva or urine).
   
• Industrial applications: the microbiological analysis of food, environments (such as water and air), surfaces and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, based on the analysis of product or environmental samples.

In 2004, bioMerieux sales reached 931 million euros. The company is present in more than 130 countries through 33 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, which positions the company well to benefit from the growth potential of the in vitro diagnostics market. Some important drivers that underpin this growth are aging populations and age-related illnesses, illnesses related to lifestyles and eating habits, emerging new pathogens, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism, and the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products.

bioMérieux is listed on the Eurolist by Euronext Paris (symbol “BIM”, ISIN code: FR0010096479).