Sysmex and bioMérieux form joint venture for Japanese diagnostics market

30 January 2008

Sysmex Corporation will take a 34% equity stake in bioMérieux Japan Ltd, which will change its name to Sysmex bioMérieux Co Ltd. The new company will promote and commercialize the entire bioMérieux  in-vitro diagnostics product range in Japan, starting in April.

French company bioMérieux has a presence in 150 countries through a network of 36 subsidiaries. With sales of over €1bn, it has a leading position in microbiology analysis with a comprehensive offer of products for streamlined workflow and improved quality in microbiology testing. bioMérieux has been operating in the Japanese clinical diagnostics and industrial testing market up to now through bioMérieux Japan, Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary.

Sysmex Corporation, based in Kobe, Japan, is a world leader in clinical laboratory testing of blood, urine and other specimens, providing instruments and reagents for clinical laboratory testing as well as laboratory information systems. It had net sales of ¥101bn in 2007 (about US$1bn).

Microbiology testing is commonly practiced to identify the causative bacteria and to measure their susceptibility to certain antibiotics or drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of patients suspected of having infectious diseases. The value of the microbiology testing in Japan is estimated at approximately ¥30 billion per year and is regarded as a strategically important market, the second largest worldwide.

Sysmex and bioMérieux have been developing their global partnership since July 2007 when bioMérieux became a global partner to distribute Sysmex’s highly standardized and automated UF-1000i, urine sediment analyzer to their extensive clinical microbiology customer base. This new venture reinforces the long-standing partnership between the two companies.

“We are extremely pleased to engage in this joint venture with Sysmex for the Japanese market,” declared Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux.

“To date, bioMérieux Japan is number 19 in the Japanese IVD market, while bioMérieux is number 7 worldwide. We have been lacking scale in several critical functions like commercial operations and customer service. By partnering with the number one diagnostics company in the Japanese market, we will bring bioMérieux’s innovative products to a broader Japanese customer base. We could not have found a better partner for this key market,” he added.

"The collaboration with bioMérieux in the Japanese market will allow us to leverage our well-reputed sales and service network and infrastructure to provide expert solutions to customers," stated Hisashi Ietsugu, President of Sysmex Corporation.