Aussie Microbiology Equipment Manufacturer Becomes a Global Player

10 Apr 08

PRESS RELEASE - 9 April 2008

LabTech Systems Technology Launched Globally at European Conference (and receives further funding from AusIndustry’s Commercial Ready Grant) Australian company, LabTech Systems (ASX: LBT), is about to become a global player in the billion dollar microbiology diagnostic space with the soft launch next week of its
MicroStreak® technology at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Spain.

The company’s MicroStreak® technology has been exclusively licensed to leading international diagnostics group and world leaders in the field of in vitro diagnostics, bioMérieux, with instruments to be sold under bioMérieux branding and trademarks. The launch is likely to cause a stir at the conference as the technology has the potential to revolutionise the process used to streak more than 2 billion agar plates every year in laboratories worldwide, improving results, cutting costs and increasing efficiency. bioMérieux will follow the global launch in Europe with the US launch at the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) meeting in Boston in June.

In further news, LabTech Systems announced this week a further addition to its Commercial Ready Grant, bringing the total support received from AusIndustry to $2.78 million.

Australia’s LabTech Systems is about to become a global player in the field of microbiology with the inaugural display and demonstration of the company’s MicroStreak® technology, under bioMerieux branding, at the ECCMID conference in Barcelona Spain next week*.

According to LabTech Systems CEO and MD, Lusia Guthrie, overworked and overloaded laboratories will now be able to process agar plates faster. “The MicroStreak® product has the potential to revolutionise laboratory processes worldwide and the launch at ECCMID will showcase Australian technology on the world stage” she says.

The core MicroStreak® technology which has been incorporated into a robotic system, was invented four years ago by John Glasson, Chief Scientist in Clinical Pathology at South Australia’s Institute of Medical and Veterinary Sciences (IMVS), to deal with the increasing workload of the diagnostic microbiology laboratory. The technology was licensed to LabTech Systems who funded research and product development and provided the path to market.

Last year, LabTech Systems signed an exclusive license agreement with the French healthcare company bioMérieux, granting them rights to the technology. The company received $3,243,000 upon signing of the license agreement and has received a further $1.69 million licence fee payment. LabTech Systems is entitled to receive up to a total of approximately $11.2 million in licence and milestone payments. Royalties are anticipated from sales of single-use patented MicroStreak® applicators.

Invetech Pty Ltd and Leica Biosystems, Melbourne, have built late stage prototypes that have been shipped to Europe and the US. LabTech Systems will be represented at ECCMID in Barcelona by Lusia Guthrie and John Glasson. “We have spent four years developing a robotic system that will meet the needs microbiologists globally and we are very excited to be a part of the historic unveiling of the product,” Mr Glasson said.

The robotic system will be unveiled again by bioMérieux in the USA at the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) meeting in Boston in June. Mrs Guthrie expects the launches in Boston and Spain, as well as the major official marketing launch by bioMérieux later in the year, to raise the profile of LabTech Systems.

*ECCMID is the annual conference for the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and the 2007 conference saw the attendance of more than 7,500 delegates from around the world.

Variation to AusIndustry Commercial Ready Grant approved

The development of the MicroStreak technology has received a boost in funding with AusIndustry approving a $641,676 variation to the LabTech Systems Commercial Ready Grant. This increase represents an additional 30% of funding to be added to the $2.14m grant awarded in March 2007. The new total value of the grant is $2.78m and will represent 50 percent of the eligible expenditure for the development of the MicroStreak technology. LabTech Systems will be responsible for providing the matching funds.

About LabTech Systems

LabTech Systems (ASX: LBT) was formed in 2004 as a medical technology development company and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 31 July 2006. The company has enjoyed rapid growth by accelerating its corporate strategy and the MicroStreak® product development program to fully exploit the opportunities in the global marketplace.

LabTech Systems works with leaders in the field of technology and science and have received an AusIndustry Commercial Ready Grant of $2.78 million to progress the novel technology. Other information can be found at www.labtechsystems.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 software) 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 2006, bioMérieux sales reached 1.037 billion euros. Present in more than 150 countries through 35 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, the company is well positioned 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 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). Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com.

For further information contact:
Lusia Guthrie
CEO / MD
LabTech Systems Limited
Suite 3, 114 Rundle St
Kent Town SA 5065
Australia
Tel: +61 (0)8 8362 2698
Fax: +61 (0)8 8362 2598

Tania Ewing
Tania Ewing & Associates Tel: +61 (0) 3 9387 2784