bioMérieux Acquires the Australian BTF, Strengthening its Leadership Position in Industrial Microbiology

As world leader in the field of industrial microbiology, bioMérieux (Euronext: BIM) will bring solutions integrating BTF’s innovative technology to a wide customer base.

BTF provides the world's most precise quantitative reference standards for microbiological testing. Its patented BioBall™ technology is used in quality assurance, to verify the performance of control methods. The company is also a recognized expert in water control solutions.

Based in Sydney, BTF was privately held, mostly by its founders, staff and the venture capital firm, Kestrel Capital. The company employs 24 people, with 2006 sales of 4 million Australian dollars.

“BTF’s range of products and expertise are a key addition to our portfolio of solutions for microbiological control”, declared Alexandre Mérieux, Corporate Vice President, Industrial Microbiology. “We are acutely aware of the quality assurance challenges our customers are facing and are constantly on the lookout for technological breakthroughs that can facilitate their work”, he added.

“This is a wonderful development for BTF, at a time when the company is experiencing strong growth”, says Mark Gauci, co-founder and CEO of BTF. “The BTF team has done a marvelous job of developing the company to this point. Now, by integrating BTF’s unique products and technologies into bioMérieux’s commercial network, the company is poised to rapidly realize its full potential.”

“We are excited about the acquisition of BTF, our third company in the last twelve months. We continue to implement our 2012 strategy, focusing on small to mid-sized acquisitions to complement our product portfolio and leverage our commercial network”, stated Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux.

The details of the deal were not disclosed.

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 http://www.biomerieux.com/.

About BTF

Based in Sydney Australia, BTF provides the world's most precise reference standards for microbiological testing.
BTF has developed unique technology that makes it possible to dispense precise numbers of biological particles (cells, bacteria, viruses etc), and to preserve the dispensed particles giving them an extended shelf-life. This technology is used to make precise reference samples for analytical laboratories for use in the quality control of their testing processes.
BTF currently serves customers in the industrial microbiology market, specifically testing water, food and pharmaceutical products, however future products are likely to apply across the spectrum of life sciences. For more information, visit http://www.btfbio.com/.

BioBall™ Technology

BioBall™ contains a precise number of viable microorganisms in a water-soluble ball delivering unprecedented accuracy for quantitative microbiological Quality Control (QC). It requires no preparation or pre-incubation and can be added directly to media or matrix samples.
The BioBall™ product range is available in three (3) standard cfu levels, and over 25 common reference strains. The patented BioBall™ technology can produce samples containing between 5 and 10E8 cfu. Applications include: media quality control, positive control for quantitative QC, method validation, accreditation compliance, and multi-laboratory standardization.
BioBall™ is an accredited reference material under ISO Guide 34 standard.