Adelaide, Australia, 18 August 2009: LabTech Systems (ASX: LBT), the Australian clinical and diagnostic technology developer, announces that the Australian Patent Office has granted its patent for the agar plate streaking technology which is at the core of the company’s MicroStreak® system.
This technology was invented by John Glasson and Lachlan Smith who at the time of the patent filing worked at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) in Adelaide. In 2004 LabTech Systems licensed this technology from Medvet Science Pty Ltd, the commercialisation arm of IMVS.
This patent is part of a wider international application that is being progressed worldwide. Australian patent 2005206219, entitled “Microbial streaking device”, covers the methods and design of the agar plate streaker, which was licensed to bioMérieux in 2007. The first application of the technology was launched in late 2008 across the global pathology markets and is marketed by bioMérieux as the PREVI™ Isola.
CEO and Managing Director of LabTech Systems, Lusia Guthrie, commented, “The Company’s intellectual property is its greatest asset. The MicroStreak® technology is the first of its kind and is defended with a robust intellectual property strategy.”
About LabTech Systems
LabTech Systems develops laboratory automation technologies for the life sciences industry. The company was founded in 2004 and listed on the ASX in 2006 (ASX: LBT). In 2007 LabTech Systems partnered with French healthcare giant bioMérieux to commercialise its first product, now known as the PREVI™ Isola. This revolutionary robotic system for the automation of microbiology processing incorporates LabTech Systems” MicroStreak® technology and was launched into global pathology markets in 2008. The company is working to extend its product pipeline in the laboratory automation arena, a sector that is expected to grow substantially over the next decade.
For more information, see www.labtechsystems.com and www.biomerieux.com
