bioMérieux has announced that it has received the 2006 Technology Innovation of the Year award in the field of in vitro diagnostics.

After extensive evaluation, Frost & Sullivan, an industry-leading global growth consulting company, chose bioMérieux for their development of the NucliSENS easyMAG system.

The NucliSENS easyMAG is a breakthrough platform based on the company's proprietary technologies and features premium nucleic acid extraction quality and enhanced productivity through highly accessible instrumentation.

"We are proud to be recognized for leading innovations in the field of molecular biology" said Eric Bouvier, bioMérieux's North American president and CEO. "We are committed to continuing the development of industry-leading products," he added.

The NucliSENS easyMAG platform represents next-generation technology for molecular diagnostic applications. The NucliSENS easyMAG uses magnetic particles in combination with bioMerieux's Boom technology for universal isolation of total nucleic acid (DNA and RNA). The platform can efficiently isolate nucleic acid from a wide range of sample volumes and types including plasma, serum, whole blood, stool and respiratory samples. The result is pure, high-quality nucleic acid compatible with various downstream molecular diagnostic techniques.

The NucliSENS easyMAG is characterized by a superior integration of instrument, reagents, disposables and software design that results in minimal waste of disposables and extraction buffers, as well as optimized workflow and ease of training. The platform addresses today's key needs in nucleic acid sample preparation, in full compliance with relevant IVD/FDA regulations. This includes the flexibility for parallel processing of a variety of sample volumes/types and the ability to select different elution volumes within the same run. Also, a robust instrument design along with state-of-the-art software, yields an overall more effective and efficient nucleic acid extraction process.

The success of the NucliSENS Magnetic Extraction Reagents has already been demonstrated using bioMerieux's manual system, the NucliSENS miniMAG. Now molecular diagnostic laboratories will enjoy the benefits of this superior nucleic acid extraction chemistry on a state-of-the-art automated system.

bioMérieux's NucliSENS easyMAG encompasses elements of superior innovation with enhanced design, increased productivity and high quality performance, which is what makes it the recipient of the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Innovation of the Year award.