Israeli cancer diagnostic company secures lucrative China distribution deal

Shanghai Gensource Medical Appliances, will distribute Tel Aviv based Micromedic's product to the group's customers in 25 cities across China and more than 8,000 hospitals and medical centers.

By EYTAN HALON
Updated: OCTOBER 14, 2018 18:58
Identification of cancer cells using Micromedic's CellDetect platform (photo credit: MICROMEDIC)
Identification of cancer cells using Micromedic's CellDetect platform
(photo credit: MICROMEDIC)
Tel Aviv-based cancer diagnostic producer Micromedic Technologies has signed an exclusive distribution deal in China for its innovative bladder  cancer detection platform, the company announced on Sunday.
Micromedic manages the development of a variety of cancer diagnostic products, including its non-invasive CellDetect bladder product, which significantly enhances the diagnostic accuracy of early-stage bladder tumors. The deal is the company’s first distribution agreement in China.
Under the agreement, Shanghai Gensource Medical Appliances – one of a group of jointly-owned Chinese companies developing, producing and marketing medical and diagnostic apparatus – will distribute Micromedic’s product to the group’s customers in 25 cities across China and more than 8,000 hospitals and medical centers.
Shanghai Gensource has also finalized its first order from Micromedic, committing to a minimum purchase of diagnostic products worth approximately NIS 500,000 by the end of 2019. From 2020, the minimum purchase requirement will increase by 10% annually.
According to Micromedic, bladder cancer is the sixth most prevalent form of cancer among Chinese males. Approximately 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed every year and 33,000 victims die annually from the disease.
“We are pleased by this first distribution agreement in China, a significant strategic market for us, where 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are discovered each year,” said Guy Lerner, Micromedic CEO.
Shanghai Gensource has committed itself to obtain the necessary regulatory authorizations required by Chinese law to import, market, sell and distribute the product in China.
As the diagnostic test is non-invasive and the diagnosis itself is laboratory-based, the product will be registered by the distributor at its own expense within four months after signing the deal as a Class I medical device according to the China Food and Drug Administration’s (CFDA) classification catalog.
“Registering the product through the distributor’s name under CFDA Class I will enable us to accelerate its registration in the country, and to obtain the necessary regulatory authorizations to quickly penetrate the Chinese market. We are continuing to realize our product commercialization strategy through interaction with leading distributors and partners,” Lerner added.
Earlier this month, Micromedic announced an exclusive distribution deal for its bladder cancer diagnostic product with Italian pharmaceutical company Menarini Group. The company is active in over 100 countries.