Diagnostic Kit Granted Licence for Sale in China

2 February 2015

 

BATM Advanced Communications Limited

("BATM" or "the Group")

 

Diagnostic Kit for Antibody to Hepatitis C Virus (ELISA) Granted Licence for Sale in China

Sales and marketing authorisation opens up opportunity to target huge market with millions of people suffering from the deadly hepatitis C virus 

 

BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LSE: BVC; TASE: BATM), a leading provider of real-time technologies for the networked telecoms and medical laboratory equipment markets, is pleased to announce that the Group's diagnostics business has been granted a licence by the China Food and Drug Administration of People's Republic of China for the importation, marketing and sale in China of its diagnostic kit for hepatitis C, which it identifies by detecting antibodies to the virus using an ELISA screen.

 

Initially, the Group will commence targeting hospitals in the Shanghai province and shipments of the first units are expected to commence in H2 2015. Following this, the Group plans to roll out the sales and marketing efforts to other provinces in China.

 

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is a blood-borne virus and the most common modes of infection are through unsafe injection practices; inadequate sterilization of medical equipment in some healthcare settings; and unscreened blood and blood products. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2014, 130-150 million people globally had chronic hepatitis C infection, with the most affected regions being Central and East Asia and North Africa.

 

BATM's diagnostics business is focused on developing compact, high accuracy, cost effective products for small to mid-size laboratories, including advanced genomic solutions that are being introduced to the market. In particular, the Group is targeting markets where many laboratories are mid-sized and dispersed in different localities - and hence require the solutions provided by the Group's diagnostics business.

 

Dr Zvi Marom, Chief Executive Officer of BATM, said: "We are delighted to have been granted this licence - our most significant in China to date. China is the world's largest market for hepatitis C diagnostics and we believe that this approval will pave the way for the granting of licences for several more reagents that we have submitted for approval. Hepatitis C disease currently has no vaccine and it is estimated to kill approximately 350,000 to 500,000 every year - a number far greater than the recent tragedy spread by the Ebola virus. Antiviral medicine can cure the infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low because the symptoms are not obvious. Our ambition is to ensure that the diagnosis of this killer virus, in China and elsewhere, becomes a standard and its prevalence is reduced through proper care and treatment."

 

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