Settlement between bioMérieux and Becton, Dickinson in the Field of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Detection

08 August, 2007

bioMérieux S.A. (Euronext: BIM) announced today that it has concluded a settlement on several licence agreements with GeneOhm Sciences Canada, a subsidiary of Becton, Dickinson and Company, in the field of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) detection. This settlement, whose financial terms are confidential, follows arbitration proceedings that bioMérieux initiated against GeneOhm Sciences Canada in April 2007. Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux, stated: “This settlement confirms the relevance of the intellectual property rights held by bioMérieux in this field. bioMérieux intends to play a major role in protecting patients from healthcare-associated infections, among which Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are of critical concern for hospital clinicians.”

About Healthcare-Associated Infections

Nosocomial infections are a serious public health issue today. They are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. These pathologies result in a considerable increase in healthcare expenses, despite the widely-recognized efforts of public health authorities to keep them under control.
Almost two million nosocomial infections are detected every year in the United States, 80,000 of which result in the patient's premature death. Their cost represents 5 billion U.S. dollars per year (WHO figures, 2005).
Five million nosocomial infections are detected in Europe every year, 135,000 of which end in death (Suetens C, IPSE, 2006).
Almost 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from a nosocomial infection every day (WHO figures, 2005).
bioMérieux has been a major player in the fields of microbiology and infectious diseases for over 40 years. The company has developed world-renowned expertise thanks to major innovations in the areas of culture, identification, antibiotics susceptibility testing and blood culture, which have led to more rapid and more reliable diagnoses of infectious diseases and the implementation of more well-adapted and earlier treatments.

bioMérieux is now in a position to become a major contributor to the fight against healthcare-associated infections. The company’s goal is to provide clinical practitioners with the right information at the right time to facilitate medical choices. bioMérieux offers:
- a wide and well-adapted range of products to fight these infections;
- recognized expertise in microbiology as a leader in identification and antibiotics susceptibility testing and a pioneer in chromogenic media.

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. Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com.

 

bioMérieux Contacts

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Laurence Heilbronn
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Pioneering Diagnostics