AMERICAN biotech company Binax Inc today announced it has chosen York as the European base for its multi-million pound revolution in diagnostic tests for killer lung disease in Europe.

Confirmation of the arrival of Binax (Europe) Ltd - the first US biotech in the city - has been greeted with elation by the York Inward investment Board which first planted the seed of the idea at a promotional visit to New York in 1998.

Binax, whose head office is in Portland, Maine, develops, manufactures and markets hand-held diagnostic tests, including detection equipment for pneumonia and Legionnaire's disease.

The tests help physicians to suggest specific, targeted treatments, rather than prescribing "sledgehammer" antibiotics which, used in excess, could induce germ resistance

Dr Dean Moss, 38, Binax vice-president for business development and international operations, is spearheading the European venture from an office in Heworth and was helped to register in the UK by York firm Garbutt and Elliot.

He calculates that the European market for pneumonia tests alone could be as high as £50 million a year .

"This is a city that speaks our kind of language," said Lincolnshire-born Dr Moss, who while investigating liver disease, won Australia's highest award for clinical research.

"You need a city which is supportive and with its bio-tech background York understands issues like intellectual property or copyright."

He believes that a further three sales managers could be established in York within a year as Binax strengthens global sales and its marketing position in Europe and in the short time that the firm has had its "toe in the water" in York, the European market has blossomed, he said as he prepared to fly to Germany this morning for the World Lung Congress.

Binax has already established a strong relationship with its UK distributors, Launch Diagnostics in Kent, and organised extensive trials with the Public Health Laboratory Service for its latest test for Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia - a test already approved by the US Federal Drug Administration.

Dr Moss said that from his new base in York he was also able to strengthen a partnership with Glaxo SmithKline for the supply of a companion diagnostic test for Hepatitis B.

He said: "The decision to locate in York arose from an original introduction to the biotech sector of the region when it was showcased in New York at the Bio 98 Conference.

"Key factors were the strong local biotech network, easy access to international airports and London and the rich quality of life to be found in York."

Paul Murphy, chief executive of York Inward investment Board, expressing his delight, said: "Events over the last couple of weeks have, for obvious reasons caused me to think back on that promotional visit to New York where we first met Dr Moss. We have kept in touch with him ever since."

Binax's arrival is described as a "significant addition to the biotechnology cluster around York," by Anna Rooke, project manager for Science City York.

She said: "We have a number of American companies in York and nearly 50 biotech companies, but this is the first US biotech company to establish a foothold here."

Dr Paul Ellwood, newly-appointed cluster manager for the chemicals and bio-tech cluster at Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, described Binax's choice of York as "proof that the region can compete on a global scale for this fast-developing industry."