The move is part of its previously announced commercialisation acceleration programme.

Axis-Shield will now sell Afinion systems both directly through its own marketing team and in exclusive partnership with Physician Sales and Service Inc, the largest distributor of medical supplies and services to office-based physicians in the US.

Abbott Diagnostics has agreed to an early termination of the existing marketing agreement, under which it acted as the primary distributor and with PSS had helped to establish the Afinion brand in the US.

The transaction is expected to be earnings positive for Axis-Shield from 2011 onwards.

Axis-Shield chief executive Ian Gilham said: "Our streamlined marketing arrangements in the USA will allow us to achieve increased revenue per Afinion cartridge sold in this critical and rapidly expanding market.

"Abbott has been a highly supportive partner for Afinion since its US launch in 2007, and we are pleased to have agreed a mutually beneficial way forward."

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire