Press release

Berkeley CA, US, 10 Jul 2012 17:15 CEST

VitroStealth^® coating's non-fouling and wetting properties enhance capillary flow.

DSM, a global leader in biomedical materials, today announced that its VitroStealth non-biofouling coating is used in Afinion^®, Axis-Shield's next generation point-of-care diagnostic system. Physicians can use Afinion during the span of an office visit and obtain patient lipid levels within a matter of minutes.

The value of DSM's VitroStealth Coating is in its ability to make plastic capillary surfaces hydrophilic. Its wetting properties, which allow the capillaries to fill completely and prevent analytes from collecting on the plastic walls, help to ensure the accuracy of the Afinion's results.

“VitroStealth coating is a safe, superior material that meets our need for robust performance,” said Arve Strømsheim, Project manager R&D, Axis-Shield. “We anticipate VitroStealth coating to be a candidate to support additional diagnostic analyses.”

“In a recent study, VitroStealth coating was shown to provide a significant advantage in improving the performance of biosensors. The Afinion is the first product to make use of this technology,” said John Marugg, Business Manager Coatings, DSM Biomedical. “We expect that Axis-Shield’s Afinion is the first of many medical products to incorporate the VitroStealth coating technology.”

DSM – Bright Science. Brighter Living.™

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM's 22,000 employees deliver annual net sales of around €9 billion. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at www.dsm.com.

About Axis-Shield

Headquartered in Dundee with R&D and manufacturing facilities in Dundee and Oslo, Axis-Shield is a leading international and innovative company operating in faster growing segments of the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market. Axis-Shield provides point-of-care testing via its Afinion and NycoCard^® instruments and also serves the clinical laboratory through the development of novel tests, particularly for the high throughput analysers of blue-chip original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company has a strong franchise in the diabetes testing market and is developing a cholesterol/lipid panel for testing at the point-of-care, both major areas for future growth. Through its Direct Distribution division, Axis-Shield also markets its own and other third-party products including medical devices to end users in key markets including the USA, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the Nordic region. In October 2011 Axis-Shield was acquired by Alere. For more information on Axis-Shield, please refer to www.axis-shield.com.

^{VitroStealth® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V.
Afinion® is a registered trademark of Axis-Shield.}