NZX-Listed Pacific Edge Limited has taken an important step into accessing the significant South East Asian medical market with the signing, by Pacific Edge, of a User Program agreement with one of Singapore’s largest hospitals.

The agreement with Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) will see the trial use of Pacific Edge’s signature Cxbladder product Cxbladder Detect on a significant number of patients. The User Program allows the urology team at Tan Tock Seng to gain a full understanding of Cxbladder on their patients in their clinical settings. The company is expecting to work with several other leading hospitals and clinics in Singapore on the way to a full rollout of a commercial operation there.

Pacific Edge Chief Executive Officer David Darling said: “Singapore is an important beachhead market for us. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is one of a number of major hospitals in the South East Asian region that we are looking to partner with. Certainly we see South East Asia as an important area of growth for us and the early work we have completed shows strong promise. Some of the funds we are looking to raise through our recently announced underwritten rights issue will be applied to driving the commercialisation of Cxbladder, along with our other cancer diagnostic products, in this region.”

Brent Pownall, Pacific Edge Diagnostics NZ, Commercial Directors says “Like most regions around the globe bladder cancer is a real issue in SE Asia. We are delighted to work with such a high profile hospital like TTSH in Singapore as we learn more about our products in this region. Apart from the expected local demand for people presenting with haematuria there is also an extremely large and growing medical tourism market in South East Asia where patients seek an annual wellness check-up. A Cxbladder Triage test could be a potential addition to the wellness work-up for these people. In 2012 there were approximately 350,000 medical tourists visiting Singapore; in 2014 the number grew to more than 900,000. Estimates are that this number will reach 1.4 million by 2018. So there is significant opportunity here for us.”

TTSH is one of Singapore’s largest multi-disciplinary hospitals with 170 years of pioneering medical care and development and a very progressive urology team The hospital has 40 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 7,000 healthcare staff. TTSH sees over 2,000 patients at its specialist clinics and some 460 patients at its emergency department every day. TTSH is also part of the National Healthcare Group, providing holistic and integrated patient care.

With a strong quality culture steeped in patient safety, TTSH constantly challenges itself to provide faster, better, cheaper and safer care for patients. To achieve this, the hospital keeps abreast and believes in investing in its staff, facilities, medical technology and system improvements. In recognition of its commitment to excellent patient care and its comprehensive range of quality healthcare services, TTSH has been awarded the ISO 14001 and OHAS 18001certification as well as the prestigious Joint Commission International accreditation, a key component for being able to provide services to international patients who may be seeking treatment or medical services in Singapore.

David Darling said the TTSH User Program agreement is another significant milestone for the company as it seeks to build commercial momentum by increasing its presence in key markets.