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Boston Biomedica and American Red Cross Announce Major Purchase Agreement for Quality Control Products
May 17, 1999 04:23 PM
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. BBII and the American Red Cross announced today a one-year agreement, with two one-year options, to have BBI provide Accurun(R) and AccuChart(TM) quality control products for use in ARC National Testing Laboratories' (NTL) quality control programs nationwide. The American Red Cross currently collects approximately 6 million donations of blood each year and supplies nearly half of all blood and blood products to hospitals throughout the United States.
The Accurun and AccuChart quality control products from BBI will be used by the Red Cross to help ensure the accuracy and reliability of test results generated in the routine screening of blood for a number of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Under the Agreement, BBI will develop, manufacture and distribute custom Accurun quality control products for use in the eight Red Cross NTLs, as well as for the National Confirmatory Testing Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Md. Each NTL tests between 600,000 to 1,000,000 units of blood annually. Each unit of blood is tested for eight different infectious disease markers using a number of different test kits and systems. BBI estimates that the Red Cross purchases for the next 12 months called for in the agreement represent an increase of 30 percent in product usage versus the prior 12 months, when a contract was not in place between the two organizations.
"The Red Cross is committed to providing the nation with the safest and most adequate blood supply as possible, which requires accurate test results for each of the millions of units of blood and plasma the Red Cross tests each year," said Richard C. Platte, Area Vice President, Red Cross National Testing and Reference Laboratories. "The Red Cross selected Boston Biomedica because of its strong reputation for product quality and technical support. Accurun, AccuChart and the strong technical capabilities of BBI will play an important role as we continue to help meet the nation's need for lifesaving blood and blood products."
"The American Red Cross contract represents an important partnership between BBI and the Red Cross, our nation's largest provider of blood, plasma and tissue products," said Richard T. Schumacher, President, CEO and Founder of Boston Biomedica, Inc. "Toward this end, in addition to supplying custom manufactured controls for the entire American Red Cross Blood System, we are also committed to providing our proprietary data reduction software (AccuChart(TM)) that will help track and evaluate test performance, as well as on-going technical support to help ensure that the level of test result accuracy expected of and by the Red Cross is consistently maintained. Additionally, we believe this agreement with Red Cross, along with its renewal options, will help sustain BBI's level of strong revenue and earnings growth in our core quality control area."
BBI is a leading supplier of quality control products to blood banks worldwide. In the U.S., in addition to the American Red Cross, a number of ABC (America's Blood Centers) blood banks currently utilize Accurun and AccuChart in their QC programs. Internationally, BBI provides QC products to Red Cross Centers in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy as well as to a number of non-Red Cross blood banks throughout Europe and the Pacific Rim.
Boston Biomedica, Inc. is a worldwide manufacturer and provider of proprietary quality control products for use with IVD test kits for the detection, analysis and monitoring of infectious diseases, including AIDS, Hepatitis, Lyme Disease and Torch. These products are used by clinical and research laboratories, blood banks, and IVD manufacturers to help ensure the accuracy of infectious disease test results through routine monitoring of test performance. The Company also manufactures diagnostic test kit components and laboratory instrumentation, provides specialty laboratory testing and contract research services, and has significant R&D investments in pressure cycling technology (PCT) and anti-HIV drug discovery.
The Red Cross is the largest provider of blood, plasma and tissue products in the United States. The Red Cross supplies almost half of the nation's blood supply by working with more than 4.5 million donors and 3,000 hospitals through its national network of 37 blood regions. In addition, the Red Cross supplies one-quarter of the nation's tissue for transplantation through its network of 15 tissue centers nationwide.
Statements contained in this news release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-look" statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the American Red Cross will purchase all of the Accurun and AccuChart products called for in the contract, or that the 2 one-year options will be exercised. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 1998. Copies of this document may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.
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SOURCE Boston Biomedica, Inc.
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