Bio-Rad Introduces New High Throughput Diabetes Monitoring System

Bio-Rad Introduces New High Throughput Diabetes Monitoring System
Company Receives FDA Clearance For VARIANT II(TM) TURBO Hemoglobin Testing
System 


HERCULES, Calif., April 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bio-Rad Laboratories,
Inc. (Amex: BIO; BIOb), a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life
science research products and clinical diagnostics, announced today that it has
received 510(k) clearance from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for its
VARIANT II(TM) TURBO Hemoglobin Testing System and Hemoglobin A1c test kit. The
fully automated system complements the company's existing diabetes monitoring
offerings and will enable clinical laboratories to increase throughput, improve
workflow efficiencies and provide faster results to health care providers and
their patients.

According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 18 million Americans
suffer from diabetes, but one-third of those people are unaware of their
condition. To combat this problem, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services recently spearheaded a program, the Diabetes Detection Initiative, to
identify this population through increased testing.

"We are pleased to introduce the new VARIANT II TURBO at a time when demand for
diabetes testing is on the rise. This new system delivers superior performance
and will provide clinical laboratories with the added capabilities and
throughput required to quickly and accurately monitor patients with existing
and newly diagnosed diabetes," said Bio-Rad Vice President of Clinical
Diagnostics, John Goetz.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (http://www.bio-rad.com/) is a multinational
manufacturer and distributor of life science research products and clinical
diagnostics. It is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 70,000
research and industry customers worldwide through a network of more than 30
wholly owned subsidiary offices.

Various statements made within this press release may constitute "forward-
looking statements" for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission's
"safe harbor" provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-
looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause results to differ materially from the Company's expectations. 

DATASOURCE: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.



CONTACT:  Susan Berg, Corporate Communications of Bio-Rad Laboratories,

Inc., [phone], or 



Web site:  http://www.bio-rad.com/ 

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