Yamatake acquires control of US-based BioVigilant Systems to develop new business in the life science market
May 8, 2009
TOKYO, May 8, 2009 — Yamatake Corporation of the azbil Group has announced that, following its purchase of approximately 70% of the shares of BioVigilant Systems on 7 May, it has acquired control of the U.S. company. BioVigilant Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets the IMD®*, a real-time microbial detection instrument.
BioVigilant is a venture company engaged in research and development, primarily focusing on optical applications and biotechnology. The IMD developed by the company is a revolutionary product that can detect airborne microbes instantaneously and continuously, whereas conventional methods rely on human intervention and normally take about one week to produce results.
BioVigilant has filed the Drug Master File (DMF**) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its IMD system. Moreover, IMD is seen by Yamatake as an important strategic product to spur the expansion of its environmental control business, not only in the life science (pharmaceutical & biotechnology) market, which shows promise of future growth, but also in the food industry and in the market for industrial cleanrooms.
As a result of this acquisition, over half of the directors of the board at BioVigilant will be appointed by the azbil Group; however, BioVigilant business operations will continue to be run by the current executive officers. The company will henceforward cooperate with the azbil Group.
Yamatake is an industry leader in temperature control, and is able to create comfortable and efficient environments in any type or size of building. Regarding high added-value environments such as cleanrooms and bioclean rooms, Yamatake has been further expanding the scope of its business in the field of human-centered environmental control, including the management of air quality and purity. So it was that in April last year a contract was concluded for Yamatake to market IMD systems in Japan.
Hereafter, IMD will be actively marketed to companies involved in pharmaceutical research and manufacture, aiming to achieve sales of 2 billion yen after three years. Moreover, combining Yamatake’s technologies with the optical and bio-sensing technologies of BioVigilant will – through integration with existing products and the development of new products – lend impetus to growth of the azbil Group’s overall business.
Guided by the Group philosophy of “human-centered automation,” Yamatake will continue to develop new businesses that contribute to its customers’ safety, comfort and fulfillment.
BioVigilant Systems, Inc.
| Headquarters: | 2005 W. Ruthrauff Road, Suite 151, Tucson, AZ 85705 USA |
| CEO: | Deward F. Manzer |
| Business: | Manufacture & marketing of microbial detection equipment |
| No. of employees: | 23 |
| Sales: | 120 million yen (FY2008) |
| *IMD | An instantaneous microbial detection instrument for use in facilities, such as those involved in pharmaceutical research/manufacture, requiring bioclean rooms with a sterile environment. After installing an IMD unit in such a room, it merely has to sample the air to start counting the number of airborne microbes (bacteria, fungal spores) and displaying the results on a monitor in real-time. This has revolutionized microbe detection/measurement since it is able to provide instantaneous results, which would normally take about one week using conventional microbial culture methods. IMD systems can thus play a role in the creation of optimum environments for research and manufacturing, and also facilitate the production of high-quality, sterile pharmaceutical products. |
| **DMF | A Drug Master File contains information relating to a new pharmaceutical product (components, manufacture, chemical processing, packaging, storing, quality, etc.) that may be submitted to the regulatory body to be used as reference material in the review process. This enhances efficiency and can thus accelerate approval for the manufacture and marketing of the proposed product. |
IMD
*IMD is a registered trademark of BioVigilant Systems Inc.
