Partner Article

IDS makes American breakthrough

MEDICAL testing firm IDS has had a major breakthrough in its bid to grow its US presence on the back of a 94% surge in annual North American sales to £12m.

The South Tyneside business has been given the green light to market two of its flagship products to US laboratories involved in research for human diagnostic purposes.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has given IDS clearance to market its automated analyzer product, IDS-iSYS, and its Hydroxy Vitamin D product, used to measure how much vitamin D is in the body.

The news comes as the firm enjoys strong growth in US sales, with an increase in revenues of 94% to £12m this year.

This follows a previous growth period in which US sales climbed 116% to £6.18m between 2008 and 2009.

This growth has largely been achieved through sales of non-automated tests which must be performed by skilled personnel working at the laboratory bench.

Much of this growth has been driven by soaring demand for tests for the presence of vitamin D – an increasingly relied-upon indicator for various medical conditions.

CEO Dr Roger Duggan said: “This is a true milestone in the history of IDS, spearheading our entry into the automated sector of the largest IVD market in the world.

“The US launch comes a little later than originally anticipated, but now we can get underway with unbridled enthusiasm.”

IDS employs around 75 people across its sites in Boldon on Tyneside, Germany, the US and Scandinavia.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .