Parent of Fujirebio to Integrate with SRL in Japan

(Tokyo, Japan), the parent company of Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc. (FDI, Malvern, PA, USA), has agreed to integrate with Special Reference Laboratories, Inc. (SRL, Tokyo, Japan), Japan's leading clinical testing company. Financial details were not disclosed.

The combination will create the largest provider of clinical diagnostic products and clinical testing services in Japan, and expand the opportunities for FDI to market its tumor assays worldwide. FDI's products are used in about 80% of all tumor marker assays. The company has developed many of the tests that have set the standard for cancer diagnostics today, including the CA 125II tumor marker for ovarian cancer, the CA 15-3 tumor marker for breast cancer, and the CA 19-9 tumor marker for pancreatic cancer.

FDI is currently in the process of developing the first-ever blood test for the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, which the company expects to launch in the second quarter of 2005. Called Mesomark, the assay is FDI's first new product since the company was acquired from Centocor in 1998. Founded in Tokyo in 1950, Fujirebio, Inc. is one of the largest diagnostics companies in Japan and a leader in the manufacturing, sale, and marketing of diagnostic test kits, reagents, and instrumentation.

"We are very excited by the opportunities this integration will bring for FDI,” noted Paul Touhey, president and COO of FDI. "It creates a support structure that provides greater access to key markets for our cancer diagnostics products. In addition, it delivers synergies between the diagnostics and testing components of the business, enabling the organization to more effectively serve patients.”





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