Inverness Medical, Procter & Gamble Form Joint Venture

(Waltham, MA, USA), and The Procter & Gamble Co. (Cincinnati, OH, USA) announced that they have completed their previously announced deal to form a 50/50 joint venture for the development, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of existing and to-be-developed consumer diagnostic products, outside the cardiology, diabetes, and oral care fields.

The new company, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics, will be headquartered out of Geneva, Switzerland, and will focus on the development, manufacture, and marketing of rapid at-home diagnostic products. SPD will be the world's leading provider of home pregnancy tests and fertility/ovulation monitoring products, with brands including Clearblue, Persona, Accu-Clear, Fact Plus, and Clearplan. At the closing, Inverness contributed its related consumer diagnostic assets, other than its manufacturing and core intellectual property assets, to the joint venture, and P&G acquired its interest in the joint venture for a cash payment of approximately US$325 million.

Inverness Medical Innovations is a global developer of advanced diagnostic devices and is presently exploring new opportunities for its proprietary electrochemical and other technologies in a variety of professional diagnostic and consumer-oriented applications including immuno-diagnostics with a focus on women's health, cardiology, and infectious disease.

This is a compelling strategic transaction and an excellent opportunity for P&G, Inverness and our business partners, said Riccardo Guitart, chief financial officer of SPD, who has joined the new management team from P&G. Together, we are strongly committed to growing this business so that consumers have access to efficient & accurate at home diagnostics.


Related Links:
Inverness Medical Innovations
The Procter & Gamble Company