bioMerieux Launches Intelligent Patient Therapy Management Solution

DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- bioMerieux, Inc. today announced the launch of its STELLARA(TM) Clinical Intervention and Patient Monitoring software at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) forum in Orlando, Florida. Commercially available in January 2005, the STELLARA systems provide knowledge-enriched, infectious disease-specific recommendations to clinicians for medication treatment management based upon individual patient profiles, lab results and parameters.

STELLARA software integrates microbiology results (identification/susceptibility/resistance) from bioMerieux's BacTAlert(R) and VITEK(R) systems directly to the pharmacist and clinician to allow for quicker and more accurate treatment decisions for the patient. The availability of this real-time information allows clinicians to rapidly match the identified bacteria to the most effective antibiotic(s), avoiding potential medication errors and reducing chances of costly adverse drug events, thus shortening hospital stays.

The latest in intelligent patient therapy management, STELLARA also offers the clinician access to data across a hospital or hospital system to identify trends of bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility/resistance, giving the clinician a more complete picture of the local environment. Antimicrobial therapeutic recommendations are supported by actual citations and web links to journal articles and research sources. Additionally, the clinician will be automatically alerted if a drug interaction is likely, which increases the opportunity for intervention and decreases the chances of an adverse drug event.

On average, each adverse drug event adds between $2,200 and $4,000 during a hospital stay(1). In fact, for every dollar spent in the U.S. on medication, $1.60 is incurred in correcting drug issues(2).

"With more than $120 billion spent in treating adverse drug events each year, STELLARA will provide significant cost savings, not to mention improved patient safety and care," said J. Kelly Martin, PharmD., director of pharmaceutical services, Franciscan Health Systems in Tacoma, Washington. "The product we were using was good, but STELLARA has more depth, versatility and connectivity; it can be accessed from the Internet, and allows clinicians to customize alerts or alarms from most any drug therapy, micro, or lab screen."

"STELLARA will also play an important role in creating better records for hospitals, which has become vital in today's 'Pay for Performance' environment," said Eric Bouvier, bioMerieux's North American president. "The software provides reports that show evidence-based outcomes, cost recovery and real savings."

bioMerieux's web-based application operates on Palm(R) systems, offering mobility for the clinician. Moreover, the system provides documented return on investment for the hospital. STELLARA is powered by TheraDoc(R), Inc., a Salt Lake City-based medical informatics company focused on clinical decision support.

(1) "The Cost of Adverse Drug Events in Hospitalized Patients" D.Classen et al, JAMA January 22/29, 1997- Vol 277 No 4.

(2) Alliance for Pharmaceutical Care - a consortium of ten national organizations: AACP, ACCP, AMCP, APhA, ASCP, ASHP, HDMA, NACDS, NCPA, and NCSPAE.

About bioMerieux

bioMerieux, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of bioMerieux S.A., a company headquartered in France. bioMerieux is a leading international diagnostics group that specializes in the field of in vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial applications. bioMerieux designs, develops, manufactures and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and software) used in:

Clinical applications: the diagnosis of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses, as well as pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, based on the analysis of biological samples (such as blood, saliva or urine); and

Industrial applications: the microbiological analysis of food, environments (such as water and air), surfaces and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, based on the analysis of product or environmental samples. bioMerieux has pioneered this business and is the world leader.

In 2003, the company's sales reached 914 million euros (i.e., more than one billion dollars) and eighty-two percent of the company's sales are international. The company is present in more than 130 countries through 33 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, which positions the company well to benefit from the growth potential of the in vitro diagnostics market. Some important drivers that underpin this growth are aging populations and age-related illness, illnesses related to life-style and eating habits, emerging pathogens, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism, the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The company employs more than 5,300 people worldwide.

bioMerieux is listed on the Premier Marche of Euronext, Paris (FR0010096479 - BIM).

CONTACT: Sean Graham of French West Vaughan, +1-919-277-1176, orsgraham@fwv-us.com

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