GenPrime gets multimillion-dollar deal

Spokane tech company GenPrime, Inc., has signed a multimillion-dollar deal to distribute its toxic-substance screening system through a division of Tyco International Ltd.

The two-year deal allows Scott Health & Safety, a part of Tyco Fire & Security, to distribute GenPrime’s Prime Alert biodetection system.

Exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But Johnny Humphreys, CEO of GenPrime, said the Spokane company will collect a guaranteed payment from Scott.

Scott gets exclusive rights to sell the product to first-responders, which include fire departments, police forces, and hazardous-materials cleanup teams.

Scott then has the option after two years of renewing the arrangement, Humphreys said.

Tyco Fire & Security generates about $11 billion in sales a year; the Tyco portfolio of companies had revenues of about $40 billion in 2004.

Developed in Spokane, the Prime Alert system allows quick detection of the possible existence of any of the 13 dangerous toxins that security agencies have identified as the most likely to be used by bioterrorists. Those include anthrax, botulinum and ricin, according to a company press release.

The agreement allows GenPrime’s staff to continue selling the Prime Alert kit to government users, added Humphreys.

Bringing in a large distributor helps increase the reach of the product, said Humphreys, “because one of the limits we faced was having a small sales force of our own.”

About 90 percent of GenPrime’s revenue comes from Prime Alert, said Humpheys. The company now has 15 employees and has annual sales of around $1.5 million.

Scott Health & Safety also sells respiratory and other personal protective equipment and safety devices for firefighters, industrial workers, police squads, militaries, homeland security forces, and rescue teams around the world.

Production of Prime Alert will remain in Spokane, said Humphreys.