DiagnoSwiss and bioMérieux announce that they have signed an exclusive license agreement for the development and use of DiagnoSwiss electrochemical microchips in human in vitro diagnostics

DiagnoSwiss and bioMérieux announce that they have signed an exclusive license agreement for the development and use of DiagnoSwiss electrochemical microchips in human in vitro diagnostics

Marcy l’Etoile, France - July 27, 2005. Monthey (Switzerland) – bioMérieux and DiagnoSwiss announced today that DiagnoSwiss has granted bioMérieux with an exclusive worldwide license under the patent rights of DiagnoSwiss relating to the development, manufacturing and marketing of electrochemical microchips in the field of human in vitro diagnostics.
 

The agreement is restricted to the commercialization and use of DiagnoSwiss’ technology in immunoassays and biochemical testing, and is accompanied by a collaboration contract to jointly develop these microsystems into a new generation of analytical platform for clinical applications.

“Through this deal with bioMérieux, we have found the strategic partnership we were expecting for the implementation of our microchip technology in human in vitro diagnostics”, said Frédéric Reymond, general manager and co-founder of DiagnoSwiss. “The outstanding expertise of bioMérieux in clinical assays and its strong know-how in instrumentation, industrialization and marketing are major assets to develop our miniaturized tests into a very valuable platform for medical laboratory professionals as well as for physicians and patients. We are confident that this agreement with bioMérieux will enable the integration of our microchips into highly competitive innovative tools in clinical diagnostics. This license confirms the quality of our technology which is intended to be further applied by DiagnoSwiss in food testing and pharmaceutical research”.

“This agreement fits perfectly with our objective of reinforcing our position in the field of micro and nanotechnologies. It may lead to the future development of a new generation of highly miniaturized platforms, responding to market demand, notably in the field of immunoassays” adds Benoît Adelus, Executive Vice President of bioMérieux.

DiagnoSwiss’ microchips reduce sample and reagent consumption and provide results in a very short time compared to conventional methods. Under the terms of the agreement, these microchips are developed for immunoassays and biochemical tests that are the most widely used classes of analyses performed in clinical diagnostics. They provide an essential aid to the physician for the diagnosis and monitoring of infectious diseases and numerous pathologies such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases or infections caused by an external microorganism (bacterium, virus or parasite …) such as HIV or hepatitis virus.

About DiagnoSwiss

DiagnoSwiss S.A. is a privately-held company committed to the development and commercialization of advanced biochips for the analysis of proteins in biological samples. DiagnoSwiss is developing an electrochemical biosensor platform based on proprietary microfluidic technologies for ultra-fast bioanalyses in small volumes. DiagnoSwiss' products are designed to meet the increasing needs of the life science markets by providing disposable microchips that speed up analytics and reduce laboratory costs.
DiagnoSwiss’ technology finds numerous applications in clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, industrial control or food safety. DiagnoSwiss holds a well dedicated portfolio of international patents protecting its electrochemical microchip platforms.
Press releases and other technology or corporate information can be accessed and downloaded from DiagnoSwiss’ site at www.diagnoswiss.com

About bioMérieux

bioMérieux is a leading international diagnostics group that specialises in the field of in vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial applications. bioMérieux designs, develops, manufactures and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and softwares) 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); and
• 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, bioMérieux 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 illness, illnesses related to life-style and eating habits, emerging new pathogens, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism, the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products.

bioMérieux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext, Paris (FR0010096479 – BIM).