VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - October 19, 2010) - PMI Labs is pleased to announce that it has signed its first Middle Eastern technology partnership deal with Al Mokhtabar Laboratories in Egypt.
The partnership provides Al Mokhtabar with PMI Labs’ proprietary ClearCyte™ semi-automated quantitative cytology machine to aid in the early diagnosis of bladder, oral, lung and cervical cancers. In exchange for a software use license and ongoing support in Egypt, Al Mokhtabar will pay PMI Labs a fixed royalty fee per test processed on the ClearCyte™ machine. The machine has the capacity to scan over 50,000 samples per year and thus provides great revenue potential for both partners.
“This is a great opportunity to bring a Canadian developed technology to Egypt and to implement ClearCyte™results into our clinical practice. We are all excited to see the benefits that ClearCyte™ will bring to our laboratory and ultimately our customers,” says Al Mokhtabar CEO, Dr. Hend El Sherbini.
The original Intellectual Property for ClearCyte™ was developed by the BC Cancer Agency and subsequently licensed to PMI Labs, which has spent the last 8 years developing the product for clinical use.
Dr. Bojana Turic says, “To be able to partner with a world class organization like Al Mokhtabar is a huge win for PMI Labs and for the province of BC. This deal represents the first step in a number of partnerships we are expecting to close over the next few months. We are excited and proud to share the technology originally developed at the BC Cancer Agency with more partners around the globe.”
With over 100 lab locations across Egypt, Al Mokhtabar provides the greatest access to the 81,527,172 people living in Egypt. Al Mokhtabar has recently been expanding into other countries in the region including Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Al Mokhtabar recently received CAP CLIA accreditation, being the first Middle East laboratory carrying that accreditation.
About PMI Labs
PMI Labs provide anatomic pathology and cancer diagnostics services to medical and dental practices and facilities in support of earlier diagnoses for better patient outcomes.
We uniquely specialize in early cancer detection using quantitative cytology, computer-aided measurement of large-scale DNA abnormality that can indicate precancerous or cancerous changes. We have developed two proprietary tests using ClearCyte™ technology.
About Al Mokhtabar
In 1979, Dr. Moamena Kamel began her dream to help individuals with a single laboratory. The lab gained the trust and respect of both patients and doctors. 30 years later, Al Mokhtabar laboratories are now established with over 70 laboratories across Egypt. With qualified physicians and chemists, each follows the same goal that Dr. Moamena Kamel began with: caring for each patient individually.
Dr. Hend El Sherbini currently sits on the board of American Society of Clinical Pathology - Egypt and consults on the international certification process.
About ClearCyte™
Cancer is a disease characterized by abnormal DNA and gross DNA abnormality (aneuploidy). Quantitative cytology analysis via image cytometry (computer-controlled high-resolution microscopy) can detect and measure these DNA ploidy (large-scale DNA) changes and indicate whether a lesion is cancerous or pre-cancerous. Furthermore, studies have shown that patients with diploid cancers (cancers with normal DNA content) in various tissues have longer post-treatment cancer-free intervals, longer survival and better response to hormone therapy than those with aneuploid cancers.
Contacts:
Perceptronix Medical Inc. Laboratories
Dr. Bojana Turic, MD
604-629-8785 x.228
bturic@perceptronix.com
