TECHNE Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), incorporated in Minnesota in 1981, is a holding company which has two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: Research and Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe Ltd. (RDSE) located in Abingdon, England. R&D Systems is a specialty manufacturer of biological products. It has two operating divisions: Hematology and Biotechnology. The Hematology Division develops and manufactures hematology controls, which are used in hospitals and clinical laboratories to check the accuracy of blood analysis instruments. The Biotechnology Division develops and manufactures biotechnology products including purified proteins (cytokines) and antibodies that are sold primarily to the research market, and assay kits which are sold to the research and clinical diagnostic markets. Over 95% of TECHNE’s revenues are derived from products manufactured by R&D Systems. R&D Systems has two subsidiaries: R&D Systems China Co. Ltd. and BiosPacific, Inc. RDSE sells and distributes R&D Systems' biotechnology products in Europe. RDSE has a German sales subsidiary, R&D Systems GmbH.

R&D Systems was founded and incorporated in 1976 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was acquired by TECHNE in 1985. In 1977 R&D Systems introduced its first product, a Platelet-Rich-Plasma control. In 1981 R&D Systems was the second manufacturer in the world to release a Whole Blood Control with Platelets, thereby establishing itself as one of the leaders in the field of hematology control products manufacturing. Subsequently, R&D Systems has developed several types of hematology controls designed to keep pace with the technology of the newest models of hematology instruments. These products are sold throughout the United States directly by R&D Systems and in many foreign countries through distributors. Hematology products account for approximately 7% of TECHNE revenues.

In 1991, R&D Systems purchased Amgen Inc.'s research reagent and diagnostic assay kit business. With this purchase, R&D Systems obtained Amgen's Erythropoietin (EPO) kit, its first ELISA assay kit for a cytokine that had been cleared by the FDA for clinical diagnostic use. In 1998, R&D Systems purchased Genzyme Corporation's research products business. This acquisition established R&D Systems as the world's leading supplier of research and diagnostic cytokine products. Today, the Biotechnology Division manufactures over 20,000 products.

TECHNE purchased its European biotechnology distributor, British Bio-technology Products Ltd. (renamed R&D Systems Europe, Ltd.) from British Biotechnology Group plc in 1993. RDSE sells and distributes R&D Systems biotechnology products throughout Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. As a result of growth in the European market, RDSE opened a sales office, R&D Systems GmbH, in Germany in 1995. RDSE and its German subsidiary account for approximately 27% of TECHNE revenues.

In 2005, R&D Systems acquired Fortron Bio Science, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, antigens and other biological reagents. R&D Systems simultaneously acquired BiosPacific, Inc, a worldwide supplier of biologics to manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic systems (IVDs) and immunodiagnostic kits. BiosPacific is the primary distribution arm of Fortron. Fortron and BiosPacific had shared a unique strategic relationship since 1992 that combined Fortron's development and manufacturing excellence with BiosPacific's marketing and sales expertise. The acquisitions have enhanced R&D Systems' ability to serve the diagnostics industry. Forton was merged into R&D Systems Biotechnology Division in July 2007. During 2007, R&D Systems established R&D Systems China Co. Ltd., in Shanghai. The subsidiary will provide warehousing, marketing, sales and technical services for the growing Chinese market.

The earnings per share listed above reflects post-split shares after the two-for-one stock split of December 2000.