Bio-Rad Introduces New High Throughput Diabetes Monitoring System Company Receives FDA Clearance For VARIANT II(TM) TURBO Hemoglobin Testing System HERCULES, Calif., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (Amex: BIO; BIOb), a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research products and clinical diagnostics, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for its VARIANT II(TM) TURBO Hemoglobin Testing System and Hemoglobin A1c test kit. The fully automated system complements the company's existing diabetes monitoring offerings and will enable clinical laboratories to increase throughput, improve workflow efficiencies and provide faster results to health care providers and their patients. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 18 million Americans suffer from diabetes, but one-third of those people are unaware of their condition. To combat this problem, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently spearheaded a program, the Diabetes Detection Initiative, to identify this population through increased testing. "We are pleased to introduce the new VARIANT II TURBO at a time when demand for diabetes testing is on the rise. This new system delivers superior performance and will provide clinical laboratories with the added capabilities and throughput required to quickly and accurately monitor patients with existing and newly diagnosed diabetes," said Bio-Rad Vice President of Clinical Diagnostics, John Goetz. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (http://www.bio-rad.com/) is a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research products and clinical diagnostics. It is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 70,000 research and industry customers worldwide through a network of more than 30 wholly owned subsidiary offices. Various statements made within this press release may constitute "forward- looking statements" for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission's "safe harbor" provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward- looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from the Company's expectations. DATASOURCE: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. CONTACT: Susan Berg, Corporate Communications of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., +1-510-741-6063, or Web site: http://www.bio-rad.com/

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