A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) and Inpeco (Milano, Italy), a global supplier of automation technology solutions, said that they have signed a memo of understanding designed to solidify their long-term partnership in laboratory automation.

Dade Behring will have immediate access to new automation technologies developed by Inpeco, thus ensuring a steady stream of capabilities for Dade Behring's automation solutions, such as those that have gone into the company's StreamLAB Analytical Workcell.

"This is the type of intelligent partnership that leverages our strong instrument capabilities and the core competencies of our selected automation partners," said Jim Reid-Anderson, chairman, president and CEO, Dade Behring.

"It is an arrangement that reflects our focus on the future of automation technology and our flexible approach to automation. We are proud of our automation offering and the broad-based solutions we provide, which are customized to meet the real needs of our customers," said Rick Lee, corporate vice president, global marketing at Dade Behring. "StreamLAB is a key element of our automation strategy, and global placements of StreamLAB were at an all-time high in 2004."

"We are dedicated to this continued partnership with Dade Behring, a global leader in the clinical diagnostic market," said Andrea Pedrazzini, president of Inpeco. "Our business strategy focuses on key technologies in the IVD [in vitro diagnostics] industry that benefit from expertise in automation. Having already worked closely with Dade Behring to develop one of their current automation solutions, StreamLAB, we are certain this automation partnership will be unparalleled by any other in the marketplace."

DiaSys (Waterbury, Connecticut), a global diagnostics company, said it has entered into an agreement with Grupo Mex Lab (Mexico City, Mexico) to distribute its products in Mexico. Founded 10 years ago, Grupo Mex Lab has a network of 300 distributors throughout Mexico.

The distribution agreement is expected to allow DiaSys to offer its parasite tests to both the private lab sector and public social security administration. Currently, the reimbursed value of the market for such tests is about $140 million.

"We believe that the Mexican market represents a significant opportunity for us," said Jose Puig, DiaSys sales manager for Latin America. "Based upon Grupo Mex Lab's large distribution network and significant demand for parasite testing among both the public and private sectors, there exists a significant opportunity to grow sales rapidly."

Puig added: "We also think that this distribution agreement will allow us to offer a complete line of rapid tests and ELISA kits, through the recently announced agreement to acquire Biocheck and Evernew Biotech, as Grupo Mex Lab is a provider of rapid diagnostic tests to the Mexican government as well as the country's armed forces."

Previously, DiaSys entered into distribution agreements with Tecnodiagnsostica, the largest distributor of clinical diagnostic products in Costa Rica, and Repreclin, a large clinical diagnostics distributor based in Venezuela.

DiaSys manufactures medical laboratory equipment, consumables and infectious disease test kits for healthcare and veterinary laboratories worldwide.