COPAN ITALIA and SHINJI MATSUURA Announce Joint Venture

BRESCIA, Italy, Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Copan Italia SpA and Shinji Matsuura proudly announce the formation of a joint venture for the strategic promotion and distribution of Copan's Liquid Based Microbiology™ (LBM®) range in Japan.

"We are delighted to begin this partnership with Shinji Matsuura," commented Stefania Triva, President and Chief Executive Officers of Copan Italia. "Shinji has proven expertise in executing and operating retail and distribution of Copan's products for business to business customers in Japan. Being a trustworthy partner for over 10 years, I am convinced that Shinji and his team can achieve the same excellent results with microbiology laboratory professionals."

"Traditional products manufactured by Copan are very well established in Japan," said Shinji Matsuura, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shin Corporation. "Customers are now starting to develop interest in new methods of sample collection and preservation, such as Liquid Based Microbiology™. The transition from old to new technologies is never easy and this partnership brings a valuable response to customers' needs and new operational challenges. We look forward to significantly increase both scientific visibility and tangible sales."

The joint venture will be established under the name of "Copan Japan" and its corporate office will be located in Kobe City, in Hyogo Prefecture. Currently, plans are being developed and finalized in order to start full operations in January 2018.

About COPAN

With a reputation for innovation in preanalytics, COPAN is the leading supplier of collection and transport systems in the world. COPAN's innovations in preanalytics include patented FLOQSwabs®, eSwab®, and UTM® Viral Transport, which have been proven to advance the quality of traditional and contemporary microbiology assays through improved fluid-dynamics. Established in 1979, COPAN has successfully entered the field of Microbiology Laboratory Automation with WASP® and WASPLab®.

About LBM®

From the latest generation of traditional bacteriology transport swabs to Liquid Based Microbiology™ (LBM®), a concept developed by COPAN with the advent of FLOQSwabs® in 2003 and of eSwab® in 2005, transforming previously challenging samples such as swabs, feces and sputum into liquid samples. The LBM® line brings specimens into liquid format in ready to use standard size plastic containers, optimal for automation in Microbiology. This standardization in Microbiology helps to streamline specimen processing, allowing busy laboratories the ability to automate up front processing and offer expanded testing capabilities.

About SHINJI MATSUURA

After serving almost 15 years as clinical diagnostic manager in Baxter and 8 years as member of board of directors at Nichidenrika-Glass Co.Ltd, Shinji Matsuura started his own business in 1995 with the establishment of Shin Corporation Co.Ltd, a company dedicated to supply diagnostic kit consumables. In 2004, he decided to open EXTRA Co.Ltd, which inspects and assembles plastic consumables, and in 2016 he acquired U-ENGINEER Co.Ltd, which is completely dedicated to R&D and manufacturing of plastic consumables to B2B and B2C markets. Shinji Matsuura currently serves as both President and CEO of all three companies.