bioMérieux Selects Winners of “Innovation in Art” Contest

Durham, NC and St. Louis, MO (August 16, 2006) — bioMérieux, an industry-leading medical diagnostics company, recently announced the winners of its “Innovation in Art” contest, awarding more than $10,000 to college students and local university art departments.

“Innovation in Art” challenged talented and inventive student artists to encapsulate one of bioMérieux’s product lines (hemostasis, molecular, virology or bacteriology), divisions, solutions or products in an acrylic or oil painting. The contest was open to all students enrolled full time at colleges and universities in North Carolina and Missouri – the locations of the company’s two U.S. facilities.

Winners were selected per state, with the first place winners being Nina Martinez of North Carolina Central University and Shannon Smither of Missouri Western State University (MWSU). Nina is a 20-year-old junior from Raleigh, NC. Shannon is a recent MWSU graduate who majored in Painting from Platte City, MO. As a reward for their artistic innovation, bioMérieux awarded both Nina and Shannon with a $3,000 cash prize.

“I felt a great sense of accomplishment,” said first place North Carolina winner, Nina Martinez. “I owe it to bioMérieux and my teachers for providing me with such an overwhelming opportunity that has been beneficial on so many levels.”

Additional North Carolina winners include second place winner, Lisa Warner, a recent Duke University graduate who majored in Biology from Cupertino, Calif. and third place winner, Nicole Thompson, a New York City native and rising sophomore in Visual Communications at North Carolina Central University. Additional Missouri winners are second place winner Samantha Thompson, a 21-year-old sophomore and Studio Art major at Missouri Southern State University, and third place winner Loyd Heaton III of William Woods University. The second and third place finishers for each state will receive $1,500 and $750, respectively.

“It was unlike anything I have ever done before,” recalls Lisa Warner, North Carolina’s second place winner. “bioMérieux challenged me to think of how I could represent a scientific concept artistically.” Warner’s painting represented bioMérieux’s hemostasis product line.

In addition to the cash prizes awarded to the winners, a $1,500 donation will be made to each winning student’s art department. For Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), this donation will help replace outdated equipment and fund the MSSU Art League, according to second place winner Samantha Thompson.

“I really appreciate the opportunity presented by bioMérieux,” said Samantha Thompson, second place winner in Missouri. “The ‘Innovation in Art’ contest posed challenges that required me to incorporate the use of science in my work, encouraging me to grow as an artist.”

“bioMérieux is deeply committed to encouraging creativity, the pursuit of knowledge, and community involvement,” said Herb Steward, bioMérieux’s senior vice president of North American Commercial Operations. “The ‘Innovation in Art’ contest winners have exhibited how artistic expression can serve as inspiration in creating solutions-based technology, systems and applications for an increasingly complex medical diagnostics industry, and vice versa.”

All artwork will be displayed at bioMérieux’s two U.S. facilities, located in Durham and St. Louis.

About bioMérieux
bioMérieux is a leading international diagnostics group that specializes in the field of in vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial applications. bioMérieux designs, develops, manufactures and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and software) used in:

Clinical applications: the diagnosis of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses, as well as pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, based on the analysis of biological samples (such as blood, saliva or urine); and

Industrial applications: the microbiological analysis of food, environments (such as water and air), surfaces and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, based on the analysis of product or environmental samples.

In 2005, bioMérieux sales reached 994 million euros. The company is present in more than 130 countries through 35 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, which positions the company well to benefit from the growth potential of the in vitro diagnostics market. Some important drivers that underpin this growth are aging populations and age-related illness, illnesses related to life-style and eating habits, emerging new pathogens, the development of antibiotic -resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism, and the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products. bioMérieux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext, Paris (FR0010096479 - BIM). Other information can be found at www.biomerieux-usa.com

North Carolina First Place Nina Martinez	Missouri First Place Shannon Smither
North Carolina Second Place Lisa Warner	Missouri Second Place Samantha Thompson
North Carolina Third Place Nicole Thompson	Missouri Thrid Place Lloyd Heaton III

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