NZ firm wins right to sell Pap smear alternative in China – Stuff.co.nz

TruScreen and the now-liquidated Australian company that originally developed its technology, Polartechnics, have been involved in a decades-long effort to commercialise an electro-optical test for cervical cancer.

Such tests have the advantage of providing instant results but have shown mixed results in clinical trials. Key to the efficacy of any cancer test is detecting cancerous cells while keeping false alarms, or “false positives”, to a manageable level.

The company has previously secured approvals to sell its devices in the Philippines, Mexico, Poland and Russia. TruScreen chief executive Martin Dillon said the Chinese market was a significant commercial opportunity for the company.

“Large scale trial programmes conducted by the company in several key hospitals in China” were a key factor in securing the China Food and Drug Administration’s approval to sell its devices in the country, he said.

TruScreen said last month that it was on track to post revenues of just under $2 million for the year to March 31, of which $1.4m came from sales of its testing devices and $550,000 from research and development incentives.