York-based medical testing kit company Abingdon Health is boosting its US presence by opening a commercial office and laboratory in the US.

The site in Madison, Wisconsin, will begin operations this month and is expected to become fully operational in early 2025.

This US footprint aims to enable Abingdon to provide extra support to its growing international customer base and be closer to large customers in North America.

The USA is the largest medical device market in the world, comprising over 40% of the global medtech market and containing over 6,500 medtech companies.

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Many potential potential US customers have called for CDMO services to be delivered/supported from the USA, a market which provided around 30% of Abingdon’s revenues in the last financial year.

Abingdon believes the new US site boost the number of commercial opportunities available, as well as increase its capabilities in the uS.

The group’s newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary, Abingdon Health USA Inc, will operate from the University Research Park in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin.

Dr Chris Hand will move to executive chairman and lead Abingdon’s operations with immediate effect. Chris Yates, CEO, will lead Abingdon’s USA expansion and global commercial activities in the UK, Europe, US and other territories.

Yates said: “I’m looking forward to driving Abingdon’s worldwide commercial activities and, in particular, expanding our customer base in the US, the largest med-tech market globally.

“Our laboratory site in the US will mean we can offer US customers the opportunity to buy their services in the US; this is a first step for Abingdon to provide a broader proposition from within the US market.”

Hand said: “Expansion into the USA is a key step in the group’s growth plans, and I am pleased that Chris Yates has accepted the challenge to lead the establishment of Abingdon’s US base in Madison, WI; oversee our US operations; and manage our global commercial activities.

“We have a strong operational team at Abingdon, and I am pleased to take on an expanded executive role to facilitate Chris Yates’ ability to focus on our US expansion and global sales growth.”

Lisa Johnson, CEO of BioForward Wisconsin, added: “Abingdon Health is a leader in lateral flow diagnostic technology with a unique, end-to-end value proposition for its customers.

“As a publicly-traded UK company with a global presence, their decision to open a US office here in Wisconsin provides yet more evidence of our state’s growing stature in personalized medicine and biohealth technologies.

“We look forward to Abingdon Health complementing and strengthening our biohealth ecosystem, and bringing more economic impact and jobs to Wisconsin.”