bioMérieux and COPAN have signed a strategic partnership in clinical microbiology laboratory automation.

Under the terms of the agreement, COPAN has granted distribution rights for its automated platforms (including the WASP® Walk-Away Specimen Processor and the WASPLab^TM solutions which automate microbiology laboratory tasks and provide digital imaging and analysis) to bioMérieux. This agreement allows bioMérieux to speed up deployment of its “FMLA® - Lab Efficiency*” vision for the automation and enhanced operational efficiency of clinical microbiology labs. In this field, the two companies also plan to collaborate in particular for the development of innovative clinical microbiology diagnostic solutions.

This agreement combines COPAN’s unique know-how in pre-analytics with bioMérieux cutting-edge expertise in microbiological diagnostics. Since January 1st 2015, bioMérieux has been COPAN’s exclusive distributor in France, and a co-exclusive distributor in Germany and the United Kingdom to distribute COPAN’s WASP® and WASPLab^TM systems. Then bioMérieux’s commercialization rights will gradually be expanded, on the basis of co-exclusive distribution, to a number of key countries.

WASP® and WASPLab^TM are innovative, flexible and robust. They meet the most demanding needs of microbiology laboratories and will enrich bioMérieux’s range of automated solutions, including BacT/ALERT® and VIRTUO^TM blood culture systems, as well as VITEK® 2 and VITEK® MS for bacterial identification and automated antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Alexandre Mérieux, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce this partnership with COPAN, a company whose expertise is recognized worldwide. As the leader in microbiology, we look forward to providing our customer base with a complete product offer combining COPAN innovative automation with our own diagnostic solutions. With highly complementary know-how, bioMérieux and COPAN will meet the growing needs of microbiology laboratories in terms of efficiency, standardization, traceability and reduced turn-around times.”

Stefania Triva, CEO and General Manager of COPAN Group, declared: ”We are proud and enthusiastic of this agreement with bioMérieux, establishing a collaboration that was envisioned by my brother Daniele Triva. This partnership paves the ground for a long term synergy allowing both companies to design and deliver solutions for innovative microbiology.”

This agreement is part of bioMérieux’s “FMLA®” vision, renamed “Lab Efficiency.” In addition to automating certain tasks, laboratories would like to significantly enhance their operational efficiency, make up for the growing shortage of specialized staff, and obtain the accreditation they need to operate. This can be accomplished by streamlining workflows while delivering faster and more standardized results and improving traceability of analyses. The “bioMérieux - COPAN” offering is unique and the most complete on the market. It combines fully automated, modular and flexible diagnostic solutions of COPAN and bioMérieux. Its roll-out adds value to laboratory customers and is based on an audit of workflows using the LeanSigma® method – the most effective method to optimize organizational performance to date – and on Myla® innovative middleware for the connection between instruments, for the management of microbiology laboratory workflows and for the centralization of the necessary information to interpret results.

Sharing a common vision of open, modular automation, teams at bioMérieux and COPAN plan to work together closely. Driven by the momentum of innovative projects under development at both companies (workflow optimization, imaging and software algorithms), their collaboration should give rise to the joint development of new, interconnected diagnostic solutions in microbiology.

bioMérieux 2014 consolidated income statement could record operating expenses corresponding to the signature of this agreement, particularly allocations to provisions for the depreciation of some equipment.

* Operational efficiency of laboratories