Thousands of patients around the world are benefitting from a test designed by the Spanish company Operon which detects stomach ulcers. The firm exports its technology to over 50 countries.

Operon’s test detects the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the digestive tract, which is the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers. The Spanish company sells about 300,000 of these tests every year around the world in order to detect this pathology, generating 25% of its revenues.

The company also sells many other products. In fact, it’s a leading provider of in vitro diagnostics for a number of applications.

Operon currently aims to launch several new products in the second half of this year under the OligoGen brand name. These tests will detect a variety of sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia, herpes and gonorrhea. For hospitals, clinics and patients they offer the advantage of providing results more quickly given that the diagnosis can be made within a day. The company also carries out research in pharmacogenetics, in order to determine the suitability of drugs for individual patients, as well as in techniques for the early detection of sepsis.

One of the company’s cutting edge business lines is the production of monoclonal antibodies, which are necessary for diagnostic tests. It also makes recombinant proteins that are sold to third parties.

Its quick tests are focused on numerous diseases such as Chagas, Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, prostate cancer and gluten intolerance. This is in addition to its well-established pregnancy tests.

One of the firm’s largest clients is Nestlé. Operon supplies this multinational with a test that determines if cheese whey is present in milk.