Meridian Bioscience has entered into an exclusive, world-wide product development and distribution agreement with DiaSorin. With the agreement, DiaSorin will utilise key Meridian technology to develop several infectious disease products for use on its Liaison systems.
Meridian said that Liaison is a fully automated, random access system based on chemiluminescense detection.
The agreement is royalty-based with the actual royalty amount to be paid to Meridian dependent on type of test and specific geographic market. DiaSorin has been expanding the product menu for the Liaison system and plans to introduce a new model, Liaison XL, later current year.
Under terms of the agreement, DiaSorin is expected to have exclusive distribution rights for the developed products in every geographic market except the US and UK, where Meridian will retain the option for distribution.
The companies said that the first two products to be developed are expected to be for the detection of Clostridium difficile, a hospital acquired infection and Helicobacter pylori, the cause of stomach ulcers and a recognised contributor to gastric cancer.
John Kraeutler, CEO of Meridian, said: “We value this collaboration with DiaSorin and we are encouraged by the prospect of expanding the reach for Meridian’s infectious disease technologies. 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.
“We pride ourselves on being able to offer our customer base a variety of platforms to meet their specific needs and now we can provide a fully automated system option through this new partnership with DiaSorin.”
Carlo Rosa, CEO of DiaSorin, said: “We are sincerely happy with this agreement that will give us the opportunity to partner with Meridian, a leading company in GI tract infections.
“3,000 Liaison platforms installed worldwide, covering almost all geographical areas, combined with a menu enriched by high quality tests developed with Meridian will definitely enable our Group to underscore, even more unequivocally, its position as a specialist in the area of infectious diseases.”