Absolute Vision flies solo with BioMeridian brand
use of two-dimensional data matrix codes used in laboratories - has
set up a new brand which signals a decision to ramp up its in-house
marketing efforts.
BioMeridian brings together all the elements of the company's product portfolio that are targeted at the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including its 2D code readers that are finding a place in laboratories across the sector. And the move will also lead to new product launches outside Absolute Vision's core optical reader franchise, according to Richard Laight, the company's director of business development.
In an interview, Laight explained that until now, Absolute Vision has relied mainly on the manufacturers of the laboratory tubes that its readers are designed to work with - AbGene, The Automation Partnership (TAP) and Matrix Technologies - to distribute its products.
But various factors - including the acquisitions of AbGene and Matrix parent Apogent into acquisitive juggernaut Fisher Scientific - have prompted a rethink.
AbGene, TAP and Matrix have done a good job of bringing Absolute Vision's readers into big pharmaceutical companies - Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca all use the company's products - but have been less successful in targeting smaller, biopharmaceutical firms.
Concerned that some of the momentum behind its products was slipping away, and that there were now two companies selling tubes in the UK, Absolute Vision decided to take the matter into its own hands.
The company's technology is also sold through other channels - an Absolute Vision reader lies at the heart of RTS' recently-launched SmartStore compound management system, for example. But Laight believes its future is better assured with direct sales. The biotech sector will benefit the most from from the BioMeridian brand, he predicted, as this will be cheaper than the product range offered by the tube manufacturers.
AbGene et al tend to be able to charge the full list price for 2D readers, because they can offer discounts on tubes. BioMeridian brands will be cheaper from the off, but Laight is also banking on enticing potential customers to the brand with a high level of product support.
"BioMeridian aims to bring the advantages of quality control and better traceability to more laboratories by selling direct to end-users or via specialist distributors at a competitive price," said Laight. The entire range of code readers is designed to read pre-marked tubes from all the major laboratory equipment manufacturers, he added.
The current product range includes the Bioscan 96 flatbed reader and solid state Bioscan 96 Pro, the Value single tube reader, the Bioscan 384 code reader - designed to cater to the shift from the 96 to 384 standard in drug companies, and readers for histological and microscope slides and medical instruments.
Lab Automation preview
Laight gave a sneak preview of a new product, outside the company's core code reader portfolio, that could be unveiled at next month's Laboratory Automation Europe show in the UK.
"Selling code readers into labs gives us the chance to spot new product opportunities," said Laight. The first of these is a automated picking machine for tube selection that should cost considerably less than rival systems on the market, which are typically priced around the £20,000 mark (€30,000).He hopes to be able to price the new system at around £6,000.
