IDS Ltd acquire Suomen Bioanalyytiikka Oy (SBA)

28th February 2005 Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings plc (IDS ) (AIM: IDH), a leading producer of diagnostic testing kits, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Suomen Bioanalytiikka Oy (“SBA Sciences”) of Oulu, Finland.

SBA's core technology is directed to the determination of a key marker of osteoclast activity, Tartrate Resistant Acid Phosphatase (TRACP 5b), in serum and plasma. Current products include ELISA kits for human (“BoneTRAP®”), rat ("RatTRAP™") and mouse ("MouseTRAP™") forms of TRACP 5b.

The products represent an extremely innovative and important family of products that has achieved an impressive degree of success in the bone research market in a short period of time. IDS has a successful existing range of bone and skeletal assays, including market leading vitamin D kits. The SBA TRACP 5b products are entirely complementary to those of IDS, and by bringing these together under one roof, gives IDS the most comprehensive panel of bone formation, bone resorption and calciotropic hormone assays available globally.

The IDS Holdings plc group now comprises IDS Inc in Fountain Hills, AZ, IDS GmbH in Frankfurt, and SBA in Oulu.

Dr Roger Duggan, Managing Director of IDS, added: "We are excited about the acquisition of the bone TRACP 5b assays, as these represent excellent products to sell alongside our existing Bone & Skeletal range of products. In the markets where bone TRACP 5b has been professionally marketed such as the USA and Germany, it has seen a rapid and sustained growth in uptake by researchers and clinical triallists. We believe there is the opportunity to accelerate sales throughout Germany and the USA, to extend this success to the other major European and Asian markets, applying our marketing expertise to penetrate these potentially lucrative markets. “

SBA OY will remain operational in Finland as a wholly-owned subsidiary of IDS where R&D and new product development will continue for the foreseeable future. IDS will supply the TRACP 5b products direct from their UK headquarters with immediate effect.

Further Information:
Dr. Roger Duggan
Managing Director
IDS Limited
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 519 0660
www.idsltd.com
rtd@idsltd.com

Further Financial Information:
Paul McManus
Associate Director
Binns & Co PR Ltd
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 786 9600
Paul.mcmanus@binnspr.co.uk
www.binnspr.co.uk

Keywords:

1,25-Hydroxy Vitamin D, Vitamin D, Bone TRAP, SBA, IDS, Immunodiagnostic Systems , Corticosterone, immunoassay, ELISA