Marcy l’Etoile, France - December 13, 2007 . bioMérieux (Euronext: BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced today the opening of a subsidiary in South Africa. Based in Johannesburg, the new subsidiary will provide support to all of Sub-Saharan Africa. bioMérieux’s 36th subsidiary is another milestone in the company’s international expansion.
This move highlights the strategic importance of South Africa for bioMérieux. The company’s diagnostics solutions have been sold there by an exclusive distribution partner, Omnimed, since 2001. The Omnimed in vitro diagnostics team will be integrated into the new subsidiary and the two companies will continue to work closely together.
“With an historic commitment to the fight against infectious diseases, it is only natural for bioMérieux to reinforce our presence in South Africa. We are very proud to have been entrusted with all of the country’s HIV viral load monitoring and will continue to provide molecular diagnostics and other advanced solutions to meet the region’s healthcare challenges,” stated Stéphane Bancel, bioMérieux Chief Executive Officer.
bioMérieux is also reinforcing its South African presence through partnerships with local research centers. The company will extend its customer training activities (over 1,500 trainees a year) to South Africa, investing in skills development programs for health workers, laboratory technicians and biologists. A leader in microbiology testing techniques in South Africa, protecting patients from healthcare-associated infections will also be an area of focus for bioMérieux.
Furthermore, bioMérieux is building a global alliance with other companies to improve disease management for AIDS patients in South Africa. bioMérieux has been committed to the fight against HIV for over 20 years and was the first company to propose a test to monitor HIV viral load in real-time.
About bioMérieux
Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health
A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 40 years, bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 35 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2006, revenues reached €1.037 billion with 83% of sales outside of France.
bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software), which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Our products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cardiovascular emergencies and cancer screening and monitoring. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMérieux is listed on Eurolist by Euronext. For more information, visit www.biomerieux.com.
bioMérieux Contacts
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Media Relations
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