Inverness to close British facility

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a Waltham company specializing in rapid point-of-care diagnostic products, today announced its intention to close its Unipath facility in Bedford, England.

Inverness, which seeks to transfer Bedford manufacturing operations to lower cost production facilities such as those in China, said Unipath will commence discussions with employee representatives as part of a consultation process required by English law.

Unipath, Inverness said, employs over 400 people in the United Kingdom.

The intention to relocate those Bedford manufacturing operations "represents an acceleration of Inverness' ongoing plans to significantly reduce product cost, increase margins and extend product life cycles for its women's health and professional diagnostic product lines," Inverness said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)