IDS started life in 1977 as a UK distributor of diagnostic products. From these humble beginnings the company has grown to become a globally recognised innovator and a leading sector specialist in the In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) industry.

Today IDS boasts a UK headquarters and manufacturing plant in the North East of England, direct sales and marketing operations in the UK, USA (IDS Inc launched in 2003), Germany (IDS GmbH launched in 2004) and France (IDS Eurl launched in 2005) and a research and development facility in Finland (SBA Sciences, Oulu, acquired in 2005).

Flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2004 raised our profile and provided us with funding for continued research and development projects and targeted growth in the world’s major markets. (Symbol IDH in AIM listings)

Exports now account for more than 70% of the company’s output globally with our main markets being in the USA, Japan, where we are a market leader, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia and Italy. We are also developing new markets in Israel, China and Russia.

The main focus of IDS’ work is in the development and manufacture of medical diagnostic kits (immunoassays), and the company is particularly active in the fields of calcium
dysfunction and bone diseases such as osteoporosis, osteomalacia and Paget’s disease.

Our flagship products continue to be kits for the determination of Vitamin D in human serum. Vitamin D is an important marker in the control and regulation of the body’s calcium reserves and is increasingly being accepted as necessary for the prevention of a wide range of diseases including breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and heart disease. IDS has been the recipient of two prestigious Queen’s Awards for Technological Advancement (1999) and Enterprise: International Trade (2006). These Awards recognise our work in the area of Vitamin D research and the international business success we have achieved. Looking to the future, IDS’s product pipeline is focused
on expanding our existing bone and skeletal growth factor assay portfolio, as well as entering the fields of oncology and metastasis to bone. New products will be complementary to those currently on offer, further reinforcing our position as a global leader in the bone disease and growth factor diagnostic markets.