TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yamatake Corporation of the azbil Group yesterday completed a stock purchase agreement to buy the majority of stock in BioVigilant Systems, Inc. (www.biovigilant.com), the inventors of Instantaneous Microbial Detection equipment for use in pharmaceutical drug and medical device manufacturing.
“The azbil Group is focused on solving the issues that our life-sciences customers face, and the detection of microbes in cleanrooms is one of the major challenges that we know BioVigilant can meet,” said Yamatake Marketing Director Mitsuharu Miyazawa.
“Our partnership with BioVigilant extends our expertise in building automation systems to sense and control all critical parameters of the environment, and is central to our mission to improve human safety,” he added.
“This deal provides BioVigilant with not only the funding, but also the engineering and manufacturing resources to pursue more aggressively the multi-billion-dollar environmental monitoring markets in the pharmaceutical industry and in medical device manufacturing,” said CEO of BioVigilant Systems Deward Manzer.
“Yamatake’s automation system capabilities and BioVigilant’s unique IMD (TM) instruments that instantaneously detect the presence of harmful bacteria in the drug manufacturing process are an excellent fit to pursue this market,” he continued, noting that BioVigilant’s management will remain with the company in Tucson and the company will maintain its name and product branding, both here and abroad.
In contrast to traditional microbial detection methods that can take as long as a week to produce results, BioVigilant IMD systems do not require expensive reagents and can eliminate lengthy delays in the delivery of drugs to the market while bacterial cultures are being grown, Manzer explained. “As optical, laser-based devices, BioVigilant’s IMD systems utilize naturally occurring fluorescence in bacteria and an optical technique called Mie Scattering to assess inert from biologic particles – on a single particle basis,” he said.
“Yamatake has been a strong corporate partner with a well-established heritage and a long-term view,” added Manzer. “This new, evolved relationship enables us to expand sales, marketing and service in the United States and Europe, while Yamatake will lead Asian expansion.”
Since its founding seven years ago, the company’s growth has been fueled by Alerion Capital Group and the Desert Angels, followed by investments from Battelle Ventures, Innovation Valley Partners, Pearl Street Venture Funds, the Community Investment Corporation of Tucson and several private investors.
About BioVigilant Systems, Inc.
BioVigilant invented instantaneous microbial detection technology to address environmental monitoring needs in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare and environmental applications. BioVigilant’s IMD systems detect – instantaneously and in real time – particulate count, size and biological status. Unlike other rapid microbial methods, BioVigilant’s optically based systems require no staining, no reagents, no waiting period and little human intervention. The company, which was founded in 2002, with headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., holds 15 patents, with 33 patent applications pending. For more information, go to www.biovigilant.com.
About Yamatake Corporation
Founded in 1906, Yamatake of the azbil Group is a leader in measurement and control technologies that contribute to the safety, comfort and fulfillment in people’s lives and improve the global environment through “human centered automation.” The company is organized into three businesses: building automation, advanced automation and life automation. With headquarters in Tokyo, Yamatake is part of the TOPIX Mid400 traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The azbil Group employs some 8,000 people with overseas subsidiaries, affiliates and offices in 14 countries. For more information, go to www.azbil.com.
Trademark Notice
BioVigilant, the BioVigilant logo, IMD, and IMD-A are trademarks or registered trademarks of BioVigilant Systems.
Contact:
BioVigilant Systems, Tucson Mary Parsons, 520-292-2342 mparsons@biovigilant.com
