Our History

The Mérieux family: serving medicine and public health for more than a century.

Our History

bioMérieux’s commitment to public health and expertise in biology are rooted in its unique family history. In 1897, Marcel Mérieux, a student of Louis Pasteur, founded an analysis laboratory in Lyon that would become Institut Mérieux. This marks the start of an extraordinary adventure in both biology and industry.

In 1937, his son, Dr Charles Mérieux, took up the reins of his father’s laboratory. In the 1940’s, he introduced a technique developed by the Dutch Professor Frenkel - in vitro culture – which revolutionized the manufacture of vaccines and led to the production of reagents for in vitro diagnostic testing.

In 1963, Alain Mérieux, grandson of Marcel, established the diagnostics company, bioMérieux. Today it is part of Institut Mérieux, whose companies in diagnosticsimmunotherapyfood safety and nutrition, are working to meet the new challenges in public health and contribute to the medicine of tomorrow.

Pioneering diagnostics