Meridian Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO) has struck an exclusive, world-wide product development and distribution agreement with an Italian diagnostics company that is likely to open doors to new customers in Eastern Europe and Asia.
The agreement with DiaSorin S.p.A. of Vercelli, Italy, is a turnabout for Cincinnati, Ohio, diagnostic kit maker Meridian, said Todd Morrow, the U.S. company’s vice president of business development. “Usually, we’re the ones doing the further development and then distributing the products,” Morrow said.
Under the new agreement, DiaSorin will use Meridian’s technology to develop several infectious disease tests — starting with those for C. difficile (the leading hospital-acquired infection) and H. pylori (the leading cause of stomach ulcers) — for use on its LIAISON automated instruments. The Italian company will sell the tests to customers in countries like the Czech Republic and China, paying Meridian royalties on the sales.
“DiaSorin has a very large base of installed LIAISON systems around the world, and this agreement provides Meridian access to new markets and new customers through those placements,” said John A. Kraeutler, Meridian’s chief executive, in a company release.
“The true benefit for Meridian is geographic expansion. It will allow us to reach markets, specifically in Eastern Europe and Asia, that over the years we’ve been struggling to reach,” Morrow said.
It’s an interesting agreement. “We’re two different companies that both have a unique set of expertise,” Morrow said. “DiaSorin’s is developing assays on an automated platform. Meridian’s is stool-based, gastro-intestinal, infectious disease tests.”
Putting together the two could give both companies more share of a highly competitive, $300 million-to-$500 million market in Europe and Asia. “It’s hopefully going to be a good opportunity not only for us to reach those markets, but DiaSorin to expand its product menu on its instrument,” Morrow said.
