Successful diagnosis

Following successful product launches in the healthcare diagnostics market, the latest trading statement from London-based diagnostics group Osmetech makes positive reading.

The company’s Critical Care division was particular successful, with its Opti range of blood-gas analysis devices recording sales of £3,742,000 over the last six months. This compares to £2,442,000 for the same period in 2004 — a 53 per cent increase in business.

The company’s new product portfolio — including a touchscreen critical-care analyser and a blood gas analyser — will be expanded this month with the release of the its Opti Lion portable electrolyte analyser and Opti R blood-gas analyser, both of which recently received FDA approval in the US.

The company’s Molecular Diagnostics division has also enjoyed a positive few months. Earlier this summer it acquired Biotech firm, Clinical Micro Sensor (CMS) from Motorola. This provided Osmetech with the eSensor, a proprietary instrument and assay technology, suitable for complex molecular testing.