Beckman Coulter, Inc. And Consorta Sign Multiple Pricing Agreements For Clinical Lab Systems And Tests

FULLERTON, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beckman Coulter, Inc. has signed several agreements with Consorta to provide members of the health care resource management and group purchasing organization with clinical lab systems and tests.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031202/BECLOGO )

The three contracts, valued at approximately $105 million over the next five years, include Beckman Coulter’s chemistry, immunodiagnostics and automation product lines.

Consorta also extended its hematology agreement -- valued at $10 million a year -- with Beckman Coulter for two more years.

“Effective November 1, 2005, these agreements will provide Consorta care sites with access to our entire line of chemistry, immunoassay, hematology and automation product lines,” said Robert Kleinert, executive vice president of U.S. diagnostics commercial operations for Beckman Coulter.

“The contract provisions include our new line of UniCel(R) systems, such as the DxC 600 and 800 chemistry analyzers and DxI 800 Access(R) immunoassay system, as well as our market-leading Power Processor automation system. Plus, Consorta members will benefit from an extensive menu of nearly 200 different reagent kits ranging from routine tests like cholesterol to specialty tests for cardiac, cancer, anemia and more.”

“The flexibility and value that Beckman Coulter offers for clinical lab testing will help Consorta members achieve their goals for robust instruments that deliver reliable and accurate results,” said Lois Brisben, director of laboratory services for Consorta. “We are confident that our members and their patients will benefit from the company’s products and quality service.”

Consorta, based in suburban Chicago, is a leading health care resource management and group purchasing organization whose shareholders are faith-based or non-profit health systems. Consorta’s membership now encompasses more than 500 acute and 300 extended care facilities representing over 78,000 patient care beds. Consorta’s shareholders are among the leading integrators of non-profit health care in America, sponsoring significant care providers in many parts of the country. Consorta’s 13 shareholder health care systems represent 60 percent of all Catholic hospitals in the United States, own many extended and alternate care sites and have extensive affiliate relationships with other non-profit hospitals and alternate care facilities. For more information, visit www.consorta.com.

Beckman Coulter manufactures biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies that simplify and automate laboratory processes. Spanning the biomedical testing continuum -- from pioneering medical research and clinical trials to laboratory diagnostics and point-of-care testing -- Beckman Coulter’s 200,000 installed systems provide essential biomedical information to enhance health care around the world. The company, based in Fullerton, Calif., reported 2004 annual sales of $2.4 billion with 64 percent of this amount generated by recurring revenue from supplies, test kits and services. For more information about Beckman Coulter, visit www.beckmancoulter.com.

Contact: Jobe Dubbs (media) Beckman Coulter, Inc. (714) 773-7620 jkdubbs@beckman.com Jeanie Herbert (investors) Beckman Coulter, Inc. (714) 773-7620

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031202/BECLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comBeckman Coulter, Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Jobe Dubbs, jkdubbs@beckman.com, or Investors, JeanieHerbert, both of Beckman Coulter, Inc., +1-714-773-7620

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