Bio-Rad and Inpeco Announce Agreement to Connect Bio-Rad Diagnostic Platforms to Inpeco’s Total Lab Automation System

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, and Inpeco, a leading company in the field of laboratory automation, today announced that they have entered into a development agreement. They will build interfaces between Bio-Rad’s clinical diagnostics platforms for diabetes, autoimmune disease, and infectious disease testing and Inpeco’s FlexLab™ 3.6 system. Connecting Bio-Rad instruments to the Inpeco FlexLab 3.6 will offer clinical diagnostics laboratories a complete and integrated solution that automates sample processing, consolidates testing platforms, and improves operating efficiency of the instruments.

With increasing test volumes and the demand for faster turnaround times, many laboratories are implementing total laboratory automation solutions. Automated track systems prepare, sort, and transport patient samples between instruments, eliminating the need for manual intervention.

The first Bio-Rad systems to be interfaced to the FlexLab 3.6 are the VARIANT™ II TURBO hemoglobin testing system and the BioPlex® 2200 system. The VARIANT II TURBO system is a fully-automated system that uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to deliver fast and precise measurement of hemoglobin A1C, which is used to monitor average blood glucose levels over time in patients with diabetes. The BioPlex 2200 system uses proprietary multiplex chemistry to deliver full automation and random access testing for autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases.

"We are pleased to work with Inpeco to connect two of Bio-Rad’s highly successful diagnostics testing systems to the Inpeco FlexLab 3.6 automated track system,” said John Goetz, Bio-Rad executive vice president and Clinical Diagnostics Group president. “By working with Inpeco, we can provide our customers the benefits of our VARIANT II TURBO and BioPlex 2200 systems along with the workflow efficiencies of total laboratory automation.”

“We are extremely pleased about this agreement, which represents a significant step forward in the expansion of the list of analyzers that can be connected to our automation systems,” said Andrea Pedrazzini, president of Inpeco Group. “Bio-Rad instruments will expand Inpeco’s automation, allowing customers to choose the workstation configuration they prefer for complete laboratory automation.”