TruScreen signs up another Chinese cancer screening programme

Tuesday 31st May 2016

TruScreen, the NZAX-listed cervical cancer test developer, will have its technology used in a major cervical cancer screening programme in north-eastern China.

The programme will screen 160,000 women in Heilongjiang province over the next 18 months, under the control of the Provincial Cancer Hospital of Heilongjiang which is located in the province's largest city, Harbin, the company said in a statement. It is funded by the Harbin division of the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

"Providing our technology for use in fully-funded public screening campaigns for cervical cancer in the enormous Chinese market is an important part of our strategy," chief executive Martin Dillon said. "ACFTU is the largest trade union in the world with over 280 million members, and we are delighted to be affiliated with this programme. We hope to leverage off this association and extend the use of the TruScreen technology to similar programmes in other provinces throughout China."

TruScreen will announce its full-year results on June 13. The company also said it will stay on the NZAX platform for the next 12 months having been told it won't need to migrate to the NXT platform.

In December, the company posted a first-half loss of $352,000 after a decline in sales was countered by a refundable tax offset. At the time, Dillon said the main focus in the first half had been building use of its technology in the $1 billion Chinese market, and the company had entered into two significant screening programmes covering 230,000 women across China over 15 months.

The company also reduced its annual sales forecast last year citing the delayed launch of its new product, TruScreen Ultra. The hold-up in rolling out its product by several months reduced first-half sales, meaning annual revenue would be below the $10.6 million forecast in the company's listing disclosure document, it said.

The NZAX-listed shares last traded at 27 cents, up 8 percent today, and have dropped 3.9 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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