Medix Biochemica and ViroStat: Advancing Infectious Disease Solutions

Infectious diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to manage, so it’s critical for laboratories to be prepared to handle sudden surges in demand for diagnostic testing during seasonal peaks and in worst-case scenarios, such as pandemics.¹ 

Medix Biochemica empowers developers of infectious disease tests by providing a comprehensive portfolio of over 5 000 high-quality antibodies, antigens, enzymes, biospecimens and molecular reagents for use in in vitro diagnostics (IVD).¹ With our customers in mind, in November 2023 we expanded our infectious disease IVD offering through the acquisition of ViroStat, a global leader in infectious disease antibodies and antigens.² 

Key benefits of the ViroStat acquisition

Expertise and experience³

Medix Biochemica has extensive experience in developing and supplying antibodies, antigens and other essential materials for infectious diseases – we’ve been doing this since 1985 and have become a trusted global IVD supplier. Today, we work with 23 of the 25 largest global IVD companies. 

ViroStat has a history as a trailblazer in the field of infectious disease raw materials. They manufacture quality antibodies and antigens used for the detection of respiratory agents, sexually transmitted disease (STD) agents, gastrointestinal agents and food-borne pathogens.

Enhanced manufacturing capacity³

The integration of ViroStat's product offering into Medix Biochemica’s large-scale manufacturing capacity has increased our production capabilities to meet the growing demand for critical antibodies and antigens.

Reinforcing our customer-centric approach³

Medix Biochemica and ViroStat both have an in-depth understanding of customer needs in the field of IVD immunoassay test development. We’re committed to providing trusted solutions, including: 

• validated antibody pair suggestions; and 
• complementary biospecimens for assay development.

Achievements since the acquisition⁴

Since the acquisition, Medix Biochemica and ViroStat have achieved the following:

• Consolidated portfolio offerings for ease of ordering 
  While portfolio consolidation is an ongoing process, customers can now order ViroStat products through Medix Biochemica channels. 
  
  
• Internal testing of both company products to offer updated antibody pair suggestions
  We are able to show data on identification of additional pairs from our combined portfolio of antibodies (such as the RSV antibody). This is also an ongoing process.
  
  
• Shared biospecimen offerings to current antibody customers and vice versa 
  We are providing trusted solutions for infectious disease assay development, including complementary biospecimens.
  
  
• Winner of the Foreign Direct Investor award for 2024
  We were honored to be named the Foreign Direct Investor of the Year at Trade Day 2024. Learn more: 2024 Foreign Direct Investor of the Year: Medix Biochemica  / ViroStat

The global burden of infectious diseases

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRITs) have the greatest burden on human health, with two-fold and six-fold greater disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) compared to ischaemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus respectively.⁵  In 2019 there were 488.9 million incident cases and 2.4 million deaths due to LRTIs globally.⁶

STDs present a significant global burden. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 million curable STDs are acquired every day. In 2020 there were an estimated 374 million new infections in people aged 15 to 49 years with one of four curable STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis or trichomoniasis. More than 500 million people aged 15 to 49 years are currently estimated to have a genital infection with herpes simplex virus. In 2022    1.1 million pregnant women were estimated to be infected with syphilis, resulting in over 390 000 adverse birth outcomes. And human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with over 311 000 cervical cancer deaths every year.⁷

Diarrheal enteric diseases cause the deaths of 500 000 children under the age of five every year. These disease often spread due to inadequate sanitation and poor water quality, and disproportionately affect lower- and middle-income countries, especially people living in urban informal settlements.⁸

Food-borne diseases present another serious global health threat. Unsafe food causes 600 million cases of food-borne disease and 420 000 deaths globally each year. 30% of these food-borne deaths occur among children under the age of five.⁹

Because ViroStat specializes in materials needed for the timely detection and accurate monitoring of these four types of infectious disease, our partnership with them makes us better equipped to help IVD customers combat the diseases’ harmful global effects.

With the shared goal of empowering IVD customers in their fight against global infectious diseases, Medix Biochemica and ViroStat look forward to more exciting developments as our partnership grows.

Contact us to learn more about Medix Biochemica’s infectious disease products