bioMérieux Acquires Culture Media Specialist PML Microbiologicals; bioMérieux's Recurring Sales Will be Boosted by Expanded Reagent Range

Founded in 1969, PML has 205 employees with 2007 sales of $24 million. The company has an extensive range of products for use in the clinical and pharmaceutical industries, holding proprietary technologies for innovative culture media. PML specializes in reagents, including prepared culture media (PPM) for sterility testing and environmental monitoring, as well as control organisms, which are complementary to bioMérieux’s offering.

The acquisition will enable bioMérieux to become a leading provider in the U.S. of microbiology testing solutionsfor pharmaceutical companies. In addition, bioMerieux will enter the North American clinical PPM market, becoming the number one PPM provider for clinical applications in Canada.

“This new acquisition, our sixth in two years, reinforces the North American market position of bioMérieux’s core business, microbiology,” declared Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux. “In the current challenging economic context, we are pleased to add another reagent-only business to our portfolio that will boost bioMérieux’s recurring sales.”

“The PML acquisition brings to our customers in the pharmaceutical industry an enhanced range of high performance, innovative solutions for the control of their manufacturing environment and products,” added Alexandre Mérieux, Corporate Vice President, Industrial Microbiology.

PML’s sites in Portland and Toronto will join bioMérieux’s worldwide network of culture media production centers with its main site in Craponne (France) and regional facilities in Lombard, Illinois (United States), Madrid (Spain), Basingstoke (England), Brisbane (Australia) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

bioMérieux purchased 100% of PML Microbiologicals’ shares from the privately held Pelican Life Sciences Group, based in San Diego, California (U.S.A.) for the sum of $29.6 million.

About bioMérieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 45 years, bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2007, revenues reached €1.063 billion with 84% of sales outside of France.

bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cardiovascular emergencies and cancer screening and monitoring. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMérieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Code: BIM – Code ISIN: FR0010096479). Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com.

bioMérieux Contacts

Investor Relations

bioMérieux
Isabelle Tongio
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LT Value
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Media Relations

bioMérieux
Koren Wolman-Tardy
Tel: + 33 4 78 87 20 08
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Fleishman Hillard
Tim Baker
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