Description of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's Business Segments

We serve the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and other research and industrial laboratory markets, as well as the clinical laboratory and healthcare industries, through our Life and Laboratory Sciences segment. During 2003, this segment was organized as four divisions: Bioscience Technologies, Scientific Instruments, Informatics and Services, and Clinical Diagnostics.

Bioscience Technologies encompasses a broad range of instruments, consumables, and robotic systems such as microplate-based handling and reading equipment; polymerase chain reaction (PCR) thermal cyclers for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) amplification; magnetic particle-based molecular separation instruments; laboratory automation, software, and instruments; and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) scoring systems. Consumables include reagents, microtiter plates, liquid-handling pipettes, and pipette tips. Robotic systems include individual microplate movers and other instrumentation combined with sophisticated integration software to produce application-specific workstations. These products are used primarily by pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery and development, testing, and quality control, and by biotechnology companies and universities for life science research to help fight disease and prolong life. These products are typically used on the "front end" of multi-instrument systems, to prepare and handle samples prior to the samples being loaded into other advanced instruments.

This division also includes a range of scientific equipment used for the preparation and preservation of chemical and biological samples, principally in research settings for pharmaceutical, academic, and government customers. The divisions products are also used to capture and preserve samples in clinical laboratories and blood banks. Products include cell culture incubators, ultralow-temperature freezers, a full range of centrifuges (from microcentrifuges to floor models), centrifugal vacuum concentrators, biological safety cabinets, cryopreservation storage tanks, laboratory freeze-dryers, baths, and ovens.

Scientific Instruments brings together the companys core offering of instrumentation for laboratory and industrial settings, along with the automation, accessories, consumables, software, spectral reference databases, and services, to provide a complete solution.

In the life sciences arena, we offer ion trap, quadrupole, and hybrid mass spectrometers (MSs), liquid chromatographs (LCs) and columns, and hyphenated multi-instrument combinations of these products as integrated solutions (LC-MS). These systems are tailored to meet the rigorous demands of lab professionals in applications such as drug discovery, life science research, and analytical quantitation.

A significant and growing application for these instruments is proteomics, the study of proteins. Most drugs - about 90 percent - interact with proteins, so multi-instrument systems that can rapidly identify and quantify proteins are of increasing value to pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. We continue to introduce new systems that address the breadth of primary analytical needs for high-throughput analysis and proteomics research. The sensitivity of our Finnigan LTQ ion trap and the power of our Finnigan LTQ FT hybrid MS are being used to improve protein detection, and our SEQUEST software provides higher sensitivity and accuracy for protein identification.

Beyond the life sciences market, our chemical analysis instrumentation uses various optical techniques to determine the elemental and molecular composition of a wide range of complex liquids and solids. We manufacture gas chromatography (GC), GC mass spectrometry (GC-MS), combustion analysis, atomic absorption (AA), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), near-infrared (NIR), Optical Emission (OE), Raman, ultraviolet/visible (UV-Vis), fluorescence, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and infrared and X-ray microspectroscopy instruments. We also develop state-of-the-art advanced instrumentation, including magnetic sector MS, auger, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy systems. Customers include environmental, pharmaceutical, polymer, petrochemical, food, semiconductor, energy, coatings, geological, steel, and basic material producers, who frequently use these instruments for quality assurance and quality control applications, primarily in a laboratory.

Informatics and Services offers laboratory information management systems (LIMS), chromatography data systems, analytical data archival, and instrument integration solutions to customers in regulated and nonregulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, petrochemicals, chemicals, and food and beverage. We also provide desktop spectroscopy software for data processing, data management, 3-D data viewing, spectral reference databases, and chemometrics. These systems are critical to regulatory compliance because they facilitate the monitoring and analysis of samples by storing and organizing the massive amounts of analytical data gathered in laboratories, industrial settings, and clinical-testing sites.

We also provide a global services network of experienced consultants focused on the successful implementation of our customers projects. Wide-ranging services include project planning, management of user workshops, defining business requirements, milestone delivery, systems integration, workflow modeling, and validation consultancy - in short, everything from installation to complete integration and automation of the laboratory.

In November 2003, we expanded our services offering with the acquisition of Laboratory Management Systems, Inc. (LMSi). LMSi provides laboratory instrument services, including instrument and computer systems validation, regulatory compliance, metrology, and certification as well as a range of consulting services to the pharmaceutical and related industries.

Clinical Diagnostics provides equipment and supplies used by healthcare laboratories in doctors offices and hospitals to detect and diagnose disease.
Products in this group include sample-preparation instruments and materials to highlight abnormal cells, blood gas and ion-selective electrolyte (ISE) consumables, chemistry reagents, clinical-biochemistry instruments and automation equipment, and rapid diagnostic tests for use in physicians offices. Our rapid diagnostic products have extremely high sensitivity and specificity to test for infectious diseases, including Group A and B streptococcus; influenza A and B; chlamydia; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children worldwide; and Clostridium difficile toxin A. We also supply a complete line of equipment and consumables for anatomical pathology laboratories.

Measurement and Control

We provide a range of real-time, online sensors, monitors, and control systems to customers in key industrial markets - from chemical, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage to minerals and mining, and steel - through our Measurement and Control segment. These products enable customers to control and optimize their manufacturing processes to increase quality, improve productivity, and ensure worker safety, environmental protection, and regulatory compliance. In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of fixed and portable chemical-, radiation-, and explosives-detection instruments to help ensure the safety of public places and people. During 2003, this segment was organized as three divisions: Process Instruments, Environmental Instruments, and Control Technologies.

Process Instruments provides the process manufacturing industries with online instrumentation products, solutions, and services that cover packaging, regulatory inspection, quality control, process measurements, elemental and compositional analysis, surface and thickness measurements, remote communications, and flow and blend optimization. This division serves the oil and gas, chemical, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, consumer products, power-generation, metal, cement, minerals and mining, water and wastewater treatment, and pulp and paper markets.

For weighing and inspection applications in the consumer products, packaged goods, and bulk materials markets, we provide equipment to help our customers attain safety and quality standards while checking the quantity of specific items. We use a variety of technologies, for example X-ray imaging and ultratrace chemical detection, to inspect food, beverage, and pharmaceutical packages to ensure they are free of physical contaminants, have the appropriate quantity of material, or have no missing or broken parts. In bulk materials, our product line provides capabilities for solids-flow-monitoring and level measurement for a wide variety of processing applications in the food, chemical, plastics, and pharmaceutical markets.

In the area of online process-optimization for blending and control applications, we provide proprietary systems that use ultrahigh-speed, noninvasive measurement technologies to analyze, in real time, the physical and chemical properties of raw materials streams, such as coal, cement, and minerals. Our technology allows direct online analysis of entire streams of material, thereby eliminating off-line sampling and reducing processing time, waste, and cost. We also manufacture systems that measure total thickness, basis weight, and coating thickness of flat-sheet materials, such as metal strip, plastics, foil, rubber, glass, paper, and web-type products.

In the area of high-tech process measurements, we provide sophisticated field-measurement and sensor systems for the process-control market to improve efficiency, provide process and quality control, maintain regulatory compliance, and increase worker safety. These systems provide real-time direct and remote data collection, analysis, and local control functions using a variety of technologies, including radiation, radar, ultrasonic, and vibration measurement principles. Additionally, we provide flow-monitoring meters, gas chromatography, mass spectrography, and X-ray fluorescence capabilities for a wide range of petrochemical and related process-manufacturing applications.

Environmental Instruments serves four major markets: air quality and gas detection, water analysis, radiation measurement and protection, and security. Our portfolio of instruments helps our customers protect people and the environment, with particular focus on regulatory compliance, product quality, worker safety, and process efficiency.

Air-quality instruments are used for environmental air monitoring, process monitoring, gas detection, and hazardous chemical detection. These include continuous gaseous and aerosol instruments for monitoring ambient air and emissions, measuring such compounds as common air pollutants, aerosols, organic halogens, and carbon. We also provide a comprehensive line of gas detectors for controlling and detecting the presence of combustible and toxic gases for worker and plant safety. These products range from simple hand-held, general-purpose portable equipment to more sophisticated fixed systems.

Used both in laboratory and online process environments, our water-analysis products are used for quality assurance, environmental testing, and regulatory compliance applications in water and wastewater, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, and power-generation industries. These products are used to determine the quality of water and other aqueous solutions by measuring pH, specific ion concentrations, dissolved oxygen content, and conductivity.

Radiation measurement and protection products monitor and detect radiation in nuclear, environmental, industrial, medical, and security applications. Products include hand-held survey meters, vehicle and pedestrian portals, environmental monitors, automated contamination-detection systems, and networked industrial-process systems, as well as personal dosimetry products used for protecting workers that are at risk of radiation exposure.

Our security products include a comprehensive range of fixed and portable instruments used for chemical, radiation, and trace explosives detection. These products are used in airports, embassies, cargo facilities, border crossings, and other high-threat facilities for the detection and prevention of terrorist acts. They are also used by emergency response teams for emergency and forensic response to such acts, as well as other events involving potentially hazardous substances.

Control Technologies provides products and services to ensure the precise operation of a broad range of applications, including laser, semiconductor, analytical, medical, laboratory, general industrial, and R&D. We are a leading manufacturer of precision temperature-control products for the global industrial and laboratory markets. The product line includes heated/refrigerated circulating baths, immersion coolers, and recirculating chillers. In addition, we supply instruments that analyze materials for viscosity, surface tension, and thermal properties. Customers include the food and pharmaceutical industries as well as manufacturers of paints, inks, coatings, and adhesives, who depend on high-precision viscometers to maintain the quality and consistency of their products.

Our compliance-test systems and simulators ensure that electronic components and systems meet international and industry standards for electromagnetic compatibility and electrostatic discharge. The primary markets served are manufacturers of semiconductor and telecommunications equipment. Also included in this division are components, assemblies, and systems used to produce high- and ultra-high vacuum operations in industrial, educational, and R&D applications. These products range from small gaskets to walk-in chambers.

Specialty Diagnostics Segment

Our Specialty Diagnostics Segment offers a wide range of diagnostic test kits, reagents, culture media, instruments and associated products in order to serve customers in healthcare, clinical, pharmaceutical, industrial, and food safety laboratories. Our healthcare products are used to increase the speed and accuracy of diagnoses, which improves patient care in a more cost efficient manner. This segment has five primary businesses – ImmunoDiagnostics, Clinical Diagnostics, Microbiology, Anatomical Pathology, and our Healthcare Market Customer Channel.

ImmunoDiagnostics

With our recent acquisition of Phadia, our immunodiagnostics offerings include developing, manufacturing and marketing complete blood-test systems to support the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases. Unlike skin prick tests, our in vitro allergy diagnostic tests utilize flexible systems which provide for convenient and accurate allergy diagnoses on low and high-throughput automation. In addition, we now can offer antibody tests for approximately 20 chemical indications to help diagnose autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, lupus and scleroderma. These allergy and autoimmunity product lines operate on a common instrument platform which supports both productivity and cost efficiencies in clinical laboratories around the world. Our products include ImmunoCAP for allergy and asthma tests and EliA for autoimmunity tests.

Clinical Diagnostics

Our clinical diagnostics products include a broad offering of liquid, ready-to-use and lyophilized immunodiagnostic reagent kits, calibrators, controls and calibration verification fluids. In particular, we provide products used for drugs-of-abuse testing; therapeutic drug monitoring, including immunosuppressant drug testing; thyroid hormone testing; serum toxicology; clinical chemistry; immunology; hematology; coagulation; glucose tolerance testing; monitoring and toxicology; first trimester screening; tumor markers testing; and biomarkers testing for sepsis, acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. We also private label many of our immunoassay reagents and controls for major in vitro diagnostics companies through OEM arrangements. In many instances, we will work with customers or partners to develop new products and applications for their instrument platforms.

We have developed one of the broadest menus for drugs-of-abuse immunoassays. We also offer a line of immunosuppressant drug immunoassays that can be used on a variety of clinical chemistry analyzers.

North America		52.45 %	of total Revenue
Europe		25.26 %	of total Revenue
Asia-Pacific		18.7 %	of total Revenue
Other regions		3.6 %	of total Revenue
Consumables		41.39 %	of total Revenue
Instruments		17.08 %	of total Revenue
Service revenues		41.53 %	of total Revenue