Luminex Announces New Strategic Initiatives at Annual Investor Day

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, presented new strategic initiatives at its Annual Investor Day, which was held today at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York, NY.  The event featured presentations from scientists and company executives and included a review of Luminex's innovative product pipeline, the announcement of the company's acquisition of Australian-based BSD Robotics, the unveiling of an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Advanced Liquid Logic, and details regarding Luminex's biothreat initiative.

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The Annual Investor Day kicked off with Patrick J. Balthrop, president and chief executive officer of Luminex, ringing the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell in commemoration of Luminex's 10th anniversary as a NASDAQ-listed company. Following the opening bell, Luminex executives discussed financial and operational highlights for the company as well as its plans for continued growth, and provided an overview of its pipeline of life science research, agricultural science and diagnostic products.  

"The Luminex team was pleased to be at NASDAQ to celebrate our 10-year anniversary of trading on the market," said Balthrop.  "We also were excited to share an update on our operations and outlook on our future plans and opportunities.  We believe the strategic initiatives discussed today will allow Luminex to further advance our technology and expand our global market presence across diverse market sectors, from scientific research, to clinical diagnostics, to biodefense and agrobiotechnology."

The event also featured presentations by industry thought leaders, Dr. Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, Professor of Pathology and Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Dr. Thomas Joos, Head of Biochemistry, NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen. Dr. Ferreira-Gonzalez and Dr. Joos provided customer perspectives on applications for and benefits of Luminex's technology in molecular diagnostics and life sciences.

About the BSD Robotics Acquisition

Luminex's acquisition of BSD Robotics will provide the company access to new technology and products, an innovative development team, and an established presence in important strategic markets.

BSD specializes in automation and robotics in the field of dry sample handling. The privately held company, which was founded in 1991, is headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In addition to its established leadership positions in the worldwide newborn screening and forensics and human identification markets, BSD has developed leading positions in several molecular diagnostics markets.

"BSD is excited to become a part of Luminex.  Our companies share a commitment to science, innovation and the highest customer service," said Allan Morrison, managing director of BSD.  "There is great potential to combine our technologies and expertise to create new products and reach scientists in many industry sectors, from genetic testing to animal health."

About the Advanced Liquid Logic Agreement

As part of Luminex's exclusive licensing agreement with Advanced Liquid Logic, the companies will collaborate to leverage their respective proprietary technologies and co-develop new analytic systems and assays that will help clinicians and scientists across several strategic markets deliver highly accurate results faster and more efficiently.

Advanced Liquid Logic was founded in 2004 to exploit a patented and proprietary technology for micro-liquid-handling called digital microfluidics. Digital microfluidics is an innovative approach to liquid handling that does not use pipes, pumps or valves. Discrete droplets are manipulated electrically to independently control each droplet. The technology enables highly flexible devices that can be configured in software to execute virtually any assay protocol.

When digital microfluidic technology is combined with Luminex's xMAP Technology and three dimensional liquid arrays, it provides a very versatile sample preparation and assay delivery platform.

"Our team is very pleased to collaborate with Luminex," said Richard West, CEO of Advanced Liquid Logic.  "By combining Liquid Logic's digital microfluidic technology with Luminex's xMAP Technology, we can create smaller, more cost-efficient systems and very streamlined assays that require less hands-on time and provide very fast, accurate results."

Annual Investor Day presentations will be archived for six months and may be accessed on Luminex's website: http://www.luminexcorp.com.

About Luminex Corporation

Luminex Corporation develops, manufactures and markets proprietary biological testing technologies with applications throughout the diagnostic and life sciences industries.  The Company's xMAP® multiplex solutions include an open-architecture, multi-analyte technology platform that delivers fast, accurate and cost-effective bioassay results to markets as diverse as pharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and biomedical research, including the genomics and proteomics markets.  The Company's xMAP Technology is sold worldwide and is already in use in leading clinical laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies.  Further information on Luminex Corporation or xMAP Technology can be obtained at www.luminexcorp.com.

Statements made in this release that express Luminex's or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding our projected revenue, sales growth, the adequacy of our balance sheet, our ability to respond to strategic opportunities and our product and partner pipeline. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will," "could," "should" and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is important to note that the Company's actual results or performance could differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Luminex's actual results or performance to differ materially include risks and uncertainties relating to, among others, market demand and acceptance of Luminex's products and technology, the Company's dependence on strategic partners for development, commercialization and distribution of products, concentration of the Company's revenue in a limited number of strategic partners, fluctuations in quarterly results due to a lengthy and unpredictable sales cycle and bulk purchases of consumables, Luminex's ability to scale manufacturing operations and manage operating expenses, gross margins and inventory levels, potential shortages of components, competition, the timing of regulatory approvals, the implementation, including any modification, of the Company's strategic operating plans, the uncertainty regarding the outcome or expense of any litigation brought against Luminex, risks relating to Luminex's foreign operations, risks and uncertainties associated with implementing our acquisition strategy and the ability to integrate acquired companies, or selected assets into our consolidated business operations, including the ability to recognize the benefits of our acquisitions, as well as the risks discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Luminex's Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements, including the statements regarding expected benefits of acquisitions and collaborations, contained herein represent the judgment of Luminex as of the date of this press release, and Luminex expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in Luminex's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

SOURCE Luminex Corp.