Novacyt and Leica Biosystems Sign Major Distribution Deal for NOVAprep® in Greater China

Novacyt (ALTERNEXT:ALNOV), an international specialist in cancer and infectious disease diagnostics, and Leica Biosystems, a leading supplier to the pathology market, have today signed an agreement where Leica Biosystems will have exclusive distribution of Novacyt’s NOVAPrep® cytology platform in Greater China markets.

China is the fastest growing market for cervical cancer screening today. By 2020 it is expected to be significantly larger than the US market and will then be the number one market for liquid based cytology screening for the disease. There are estimated to be 60 million cervical cancer screening tests performed annually in China today and by 2020 this could grow to 150 million cervical cancer screening tests per year.

The distribution partnership combines the commercial strength of Leica Biosystems in the Chinese Pathology market, with Novacyt’s innovative next generation NOVAPrep® cytology platform which has recently received CFDA approval for the Chinese market. The agreement has an initial term of five years and covers Greater China including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Francis Kee, Vice President & General Manager Greater China, Leica Biosystems, commented, "Novacyt has developed an innovative and proprietary next generation liquid based cytology system. This will add to the broad offering of pathology products Leica offers pathologists and histology professionals today. The fast growing Chinese healthcare market is of key importance to Leica and we look forward to being able to expand our customer offering with the innovative NOVAPrep® technology”

Graham Mullis, Group CEO of Novacyt, commented, "We are delighted to announce this distribution partnership with Leica Biosystems, a leading supplier to the pathology market. We believe Leica Biosystems is an excellent partner for Novacyt to penetrate the fastest growing cytology market in the world. This deal is a significant endorsement of the quality and performance of our NOVAPrep® technology. It marks the beginning of our global expansion strategy.”

NOVAPrep® is expected to be launched in China during the second half of 2015. This deal is transformational to Novacyt’s NOVAPrep® sales.