Eckert & Ziegler acquires the Analytic Instrumentation and Radiochemistry Equipment Business from American market leader Bioscan, Inc.

Berlin, Germany, 05 July 2011. Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700), specialists in radioactive pharmaceuticals and their production technology, has entered into an agreement with Bioscan, Inc., located in Washington, D.C., to acquire its radiopharmaceutical equipment business. The transaction involves both analytical instruments used in quality assurance of radioactive pharmaceuticals and automated radiopharmaceutical synthesis units. Such equipment is used worldwide in the production of radiolabeled molecular imaging agents used in nuclear medicine.
Eckert & Ziegler Radiopharma Board member, Dr. André Heß, explained: "The products we have acquired ideally enhance our developing equipment business and ensure we can offer our customers system solutions for the production and quality assurance of radiopharmaceuticals. By such an investment we are broadening our commitment to the North American market.”
“Bioscan has been a leading player in radioanalytic and radiochemistry instrumentation for more than thirty years. Over the past five years, the company has increasingly focused on its fast-growing molecular imaging business”, commented Alex Kleinman, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Bioscan. “Today’s transaction will enable Bioscan to increase investment in its rapidly expanding preclinical imaging product line. We are pleased to be able to entrust our radiopharmaceutical equipment business and the thousands of customers that use Bioscan radioanalytic and radiochemistry instruments every day to a market leader like Eckert & Ziegler.”
Radiopharmaceuticals are used in so-called positron emission tomography (PET) to ensure swift and accurate identification of cancerous tissue and neurodegenerative disease. A large number of radiopharmaceuticals are currently in the development pipeline and consequently the associated equipment market continues to grow. In addition to its radiopharmaceutical synthesis equipment business, Eckert & Ziegler has several Fluorine-18 PET radiopharmaceutical production locations in Germany. In addition to these radio-diagnostic products Eckert & Ziegler also markets the EMEA approved product Yttriga, an Yttrium-90 precursor for numerous radiotherapeutic products.
About Eckert & Ziegler: Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG is an isotope technology company which operates worldwide and is the holding company for a host of specialized subsidiaries engaged in the processing of radioisotopes as well as the development, production and the sales of isotope technical components, medical technical devices and related products. The group of companies has 550 employees worldwide and is among the largest providers of radioactive components for radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. For more information about Eckert & Ziegler please visit www.ezag.com.
About Bioscan: Bioscan is a leading supplier of preclinical nano-tomographic molecular imaging systems that enable breakthroughs in the discovery, validation and development of novel therapeutics. Preclinical imaging uses molecular biomarkers in animals to conduct in vivo studies that generate more relevant and consistent biological data while reducing research cost and complexity. The company’s cutting-edge SPECT, PET, Optical and X-Ray CT imaging tools are used by more than 100 academic institutions, government research organizations, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to improve their disease, drug discovery and development research. The unique imaging acuity enabled by Bioscan‘s patented technologies makes it possible to translate research protocols and results directly from small animal models of human diseases to human clinical trials, driving increased speed to market for drugs. For more information about Bioscan please visit www.bioscan.com.

If you have any questions please contact:

Eckert & Ziegler AG, Karolin Riehle, Investor Relations, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 / 94 10 84-138, karolin.riehle@dont-want-spam.ezag.de, www.ezag.de
Bioscan, Inc., Alex Kleinman, Marketing, 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Washington DC 20007
Tel.: +1-202-338-0974, akleinman@dont-want-spam.bioscan.com, www.bioscan.com