LifeScan, Inc., is a diagnostic systems manufacturer with products focusing on the diabetes market, specifically

blood glucose Glycaemia, also known as blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, or blood glucose level is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood of humans or other animals. Approximately 4 grams of glucose, a simple sugar, is present in the blo ...

monitoring systems.

History

LifeScan was a

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company ...

(J&J) company. It was acquired by J&J in 1986, and in June 2018, J&J agreed to sell LifeScan to

Platinum Equity Platinum Equity, LLC is an American private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia. History Platinum Equity was founded in 19 ...

as part of its strategic exit from the diabetes device market, accepting an offer originally tendered in March 2018. The divestiture completed in October 2018. LifeScan manufactures and markets the OneTouch Ultra and OneTouch Verio families of products for home use. The company philosophy is to "create a world without limits for people with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

." During its existence, LifeScan revolutionized blood glucose monitoring by introduction of its "One Touch" systems. Originally, the measurement was made using a test strip which changed color depending on the glucose content of a blood sample, and LifeScan rose to become the world-leading producer of such systems in the early 1990s. Later, the measurement technology was changed to electrochemistry, but LifeScan maintained a leading position in the industry. LifeScan has facilities in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, Scotland;

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard ...

, British Columbia, Canada; and

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo (, ) is a city and municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area. Hist ...

. Animas Corporation of

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neig ...

, which produced insulin pumps for people with diabetes, was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2006 and now closed, reported to LifeScan. LifeScan, which employed 2400 people as of early 2018, was the central part of J&J's diabetes device business. J&J announced plans to exit from the diabetes device market in 2017, including divesting LifeScan. In January 2018. there were reports of Chinese investors expressing interest in purchasing the company for , while in March, Platinum Equity offered the far smaller sum of for the unit.

References

External links

LifeScan

LifeScan Diabetes Institute

OneTouch
Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries Diabetes organizations Medical technology companies of the United Kingdom 1986 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions Diabetes-related supplies and medical equipment Diabetes {{US-manufacturing-company-stub