Meridian Bioscience, DiaSorin sign world-wide product development and distribution agreement

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio (NASDAQ: VIVO) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive, world-wide product development and distribution agreement with DiaSorin S.p.A. Under terms of the agreement, DiaSorin will utilize key Meridian technology to develop several infectious disease products for use on their LIAISON® systems. LIAISON is a fully automated, random access system based on chemiluminescense detection. There are over 3,000 LIAISON systems placed in laboratories throughout the world. 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 rapidly expanding the product menu for the LIAISON® system and plans to introduce a new high throughput model, LIAISON XL, later this year. Under the agreement with Meridian, DiaSorin will have exclusive distribution rights for the developed products in every geographic market except the United States and United Kingdom, where Meridian will retain the option for distribution. The first two products to be developed will be for the detection of Clostridium difficile, a leading hospital acquired infection and Helicobacter pylori, the leading cause of stomach ulcers and a recognized contributor to gastric cancer.

John A. Kraeutler, Meridian's Chief Executive Officer, 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, Chief Executive Officer of DiaSorin, stated, "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."