Irish biotechnology company Randox Laboratories is highlighting the impact of its export strategy to Latin America, as sales of the firm’s products into the region in 2014 exceed €7 million. The announcement comes as Health Minister, Leo Varadkar visits Mexico’s leading clinical laboratory to see Randox products in use.

Randox, a global market leader within the in vitro diagnostics industry, has been exporting its innovative tests and technology to hospitals, clinics and R&D labs across Mexico for almost 20 years. One of the company’s key customers in the country is principal clinical laboratory, Biomédica de Referencia, based in Mexico City, winner of the prestigious 2014 Mexican National Quality Award.

Today (18th March 2015), the Health Minister and Irish Ambassador, will tour the state-of-the-art facility and will meet representatives from Randox’s dedicated Latin America team. They will also speak to the pioneering medics and scientists at Biomédica de Referencia, who use Randox Quality Control products to ensure accuracy in patient testing.

Welcoming the Health Minister’s visit, Dominic Hasson, Randox’s Latin America Manager said the team’s success is due to the strength of Randox products and to developing good relations:

“Randox exports to 20 countries in Latin America, many of which are strengthening their healthcare systems and as a result we are seeing increased demand for our high quality diagnostic products, year-on-year; Mexico is no exception. Randox has invested in Spanish speaking staff to assist with this market, providing teams dedicated to the region, who work to develop and maintain relationships with customers; this is vital to growing the Randox footprint in Latin America.”

Health Minister Leo Varadkar said: “The strong relationship between Biomédica de Referencia and Randox is a clear example of the value of collaboration between Mexican and Irish companies in the healthcare sector. As Minister for Health, I am very proud that quality control products developed and manufactured by an Irish company have contributed to Biomédica de Referencia receiving the 2014 Mexican National Quality Control Award.”

Irish Ambassador to Mexico, Sonja Hyland said: “Mexico is Ireland’s largest trading partner in Latin America and the pharmaceutical, medical devices and medical products sector is an important and growing part of that relationship, accounting for nearly $400 million of business between Mexico and Ireland. Minister Varadkar’s visit to Mexico gives us an opportunity to further develop and strengthen that relationship.”

Clara Corona de Lau of Biomédica de Referencia said: “For Biomédica de Referencia, the use of Randox products since 2010 has been an invaluable tool in assuring the quality of our results. Randox products allow us to have more efficient processes to control all our systems with one programme, and in addition to this, having commutable matrixes means that evaluation of the control materials reflects our analytical performance in a similar way to that seen with patient samples. Also, having “real time” results has helped us to take correct decisions in regards to our analytical systems, helping us to strengthen our organizational values of continuous improvement and innovation. We are convinced that with Randox we have an ally, which in these last 5 years has contributed strongly to the achievement of our goals of operational excellence and positioning of our brand.”