Japan-headquartered Shimadzu Corporation has made French startup Biomaneo a wholly-owned subsidiary. Biomaneo is a software and reagent kit company with strengths in the clinical field. Since 2020, Shimadzu Europa GmbH (SEG), a European subsidiary of the company, has been collaborating with Biomaneo to market software for newborn screening tests (NBS).

The purpose of this acquisition is to acquire software products for clinical use and to secure software talent with expertise in compliance with the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation (IVDR).

In recent years, the introduction of liquid chromatograph mass spectrometers (LCMS) in clinical chemistry applications, mainly blood tests, has increased. In addition, hospital information systems (Laboratory Information System, LIS), which link information such as test results and test times with patients' electronic medical records, have become widespread in hospitals, and test equipment such as LCMS are required to link data with LIS.

In the past, if a device could not be connected directly to the LIS, the user would have to manually transfer data to the LIS or deal with it by purchasing custom software.

Biomaneo's product is software that connects LIS to various inspection devices. Shimadzu's new addition of Biomaneo software to its lineup enables the automation of data transmission from the company inspection equipment to LIS. Biomaneo's software personnel will also be responsible for developing IVDR-capable software for various tests, including investigational drug monitoring (TDM), as well as specialised software for reagents manufactured by Alsachim, a subsidiary of the company.