Biomerieux’s sales up 6.2%

Biomerieux has announced that its sales were up 6.2 per cent like-for-like in the first three months of 2008.

The vitro diagnostics firm revealed the figure in the release of its first quarterly business review.

Its net sales amounted to 257.4 million euros (201 million pounds) and reagent sales rose by 8.5 per cent due to the strong growth in high medical-value tests.

The company described its sales in Europe as growing rapidly in Germany and the UK but slightly slower in southern Europe.

Stephane Bancel, the firm’s chief executive officer, said: "With like-for-like sales growth of more than 6 per cent, the first quarter was in line with our business plan."

"The current increase and redeployment of the sales force in the United States have temporarily slowed down our US instrument sales but reagent sales grew by a very robust 8.5 per cent during the first three months of 2008."

Biomerieux claims to have been a world leader in its field for over 45 years, it is present in more than 150 countries through 387 subsidiaries. In 2007, its revenues reached 1,063 billion euros.