Pacific Edge opens up European market with regional patent for Cxbladder

Wednesday 26th November 2014

Pacific Edge, the non-invasive bladder cancer test developer, is considering whether to enter the European market after its Cxbladder technology was granted a patent covering 38 countries in the region. The shares gained.

The European Patent Office granted patent protection for the bladder test, opening a potentially major market for the Dunedin based company, it said in a statement. Europe has the highest incidence of bladder cancer in the world, with some 151,000 new cases detected every year, and Pacific Edge has already appointed medical lab company Oryzon as a licensee in Spain. The company's shares climbed 4.9 percent to 85 cents.

"Our immediate focus is on building momentum of sales in the US, the world's largest healthcare market, where the company has just now started into its second year of commercial operations," chief executive David Darling said. "Consideration can now be given to growing our commercial footprint for Cxbladder in European countries."

The European patent, which covers the European Union, plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Turkey, Monaco, Iceland, Norway, the Republic of Macedonia, San Marino and Serbia, adds to Pacific Edge's growing global footprint after it was issued a patent for its colorectal cancer prognostic technology in Japan. It has also received patents in the US for skin cancer detection, and China for gastric cancer detection.

"Extending and further developing our intellectual capital is essential for the long term commercial success of the company, and the creation of additional value for shareholders," Darling said.

The company is targeting annual revenue of $100 million in the coming years, much of which it expects will come from the US where Pacific Edge has signed contracts with national network healthcare managers to supply its test to providers.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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