Johnson & Johnson to buy Kodak diagnostics unit

Johnson & Johnson and Eastman Kodak reached an agreement last week for J&J to acquire Kodak's clinical diagnostics business for $1.01 billion in cash. The move further diversifies J&J away from prescription pharmaceuticals and solidifies its position as the third largest player in the medical testing industry. U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories and Germany-based Boehringer Mannheim are first and second, respectively, in the clinical diagnostics market. Kodak's clinical diagnostics business includes clinical chemistry and immunodiagnostic analyzers used in hospitals and by doctors, with sales in 1993 of $535 million. If the Kodak acquisition is folded into J&J's Ortho Diagnostic Systems division, the expanded division's total annual sales will exceed $1 billion. "This acquisition fits perfectly our strategy objective of enhancing our business in diagnostic products," says Ralph S. Larsen, J&J's chairman and chief executive officer. Among these are blood virus screening and diagnostic products used in blood don...