TORONTO, ONTARIO and VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/15/13 -- LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services ("LifeLabs") today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase B.C. Biomedical Laboratories Ltd. ("BC Biomedical") to better serve patients in the province of British Columbia. LifeLabs and BC Biomedical provide laboratory testing services that help B.C. health care providers diagnose, treat, monitor and prevent disease in patients. The two organizations provide high quality diagnostic services to community patients through patient service centers, homecare and long-term care visits, and dedicated laboratory testing facilities.

"I am very pleased to announce that our two companies are coming together to serve patients and their health providers in B.C.," said Sue Paish, President and CEO of LifeLabs. "With increasing demand for testing services and a challenging fiscal environment, we need to become even more effective and efficient in ensuring British Columbians receive the best service and reliable access to testing. At the same time, we need to continue to invest in technologies and innovation for patients and health care providers."

"Our two organizations care about patients and helping physicians identify the right course of action for better health care outcomes," said Doug Buchanan, CEO of BC Biomedical. "So, in bringing the two companies together, we are fully aligned in our commitment to quality and continuous improvement in patient services in B.C. going forward."

The purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approvals from the Provincial and Federal governments. Subject to completion of these terms, LifeLabs expects the transaction to be completed later this Spring. Further information will be provided at the time of closing.

LifeLabs is a Canadian-owned company and is the country's largest provider of community laboratory services in the delivery of more than 50 million laboratory tests to over 10 million Canadians and 20,000 physicians annually. In B.C., LifeLabs serves four million B.C. patients each year at its 80 patient service centers and performs more than 44,000 tests daily to help doctors diagnose, monitor and treat their patients. The company also makes 150,000 homecare and long-term care facility visits in B.C. each year as part of its community laboratory services. For more information, visit: www.lifelabs.com.

BC Biomedical serves more than two million patients each year through its 45 patient service centers and performs an average of 32,000 tests each day in British Columbia. The Company has been providing laboratory diagnostic services for more than 50 years in B.C. and is owned by Dr. C. J. Coady Associates, a partnership comprising more than 40 practitioners in all disciplines of laboratory medicine. For more information, visit: www.bcbio.com.