Omaha based Streck Laboratories expanding

[eomaha]

http://www.streck.com

Streck to build research facility

Streck Laboratories Inc., which makes products that assist in testing blood samples, will begin building a new research and development facility later this month.

The 51,000-square-foot addition will complement the company's existing 144,000-square- foot facility at 7002 S. 109th St.

Connie Ryan, president of Streck, said the expansion is necessary because the company plans to expand its existing manufacturing capabilities due to growing demand. The move comes after a new partnership with Abbott Laboratories' diagnostic division to produce hematology reference controls for Abbott's blood-testing equipment.

Ryan said she expects the company to continue growing as its expansion continues, adding about 15 more employees this year to the 280 who already work there.

The expansion should be completed in 10 to 12 months, the company said.

Streck holds a series of patents that enable lab workers to stabilize white blood cells, the most difficult blood cells to test and study. The technology has been applied in products for calibrating machines that count blood cells and in products that stabilize blood for short-term storage before testing.

One recently developed product extends the testing period for blood samples from about 12 hours to seven days.

"This will be helpful to treat people with AIDS in less-developed countries," Ryan said, noting that white blood cells in many blood samples in underdeveloped countries are corrupted before they can be tested in remote labs.

Streck controls about 35 percent of the world market for hematology reference controls used in blood tests and about 65 percent of the total world market, including licensees.