PEB
26/05/2014 08:30
GENERAL
REL: 0830 HRS Pacific Edge Limited
GENERAL: PEB: Pacific Edge signs Cxbladder agreement with MultiPlan
25 May 2014
Pacific Edge signs Cxbladder agreement with national provider network
MultiPlan in the US
Pacific Edge announced today that it has entered into a contractual agreement
with MultiPlan, Inc. for diagnostics laboratory testing. The agreement
includes Pacific Edge's participation in the MultiPlan, PHCS and PHCS
Savility Networks.
The agreement is the fourth signed with national provider networks by Pacific
Edge since October 2013 and is another step in the Company's commercial
roll-out of Cxbladder in the United States, the world's largest healthcare
market. The agreement with MultiPlan in addition to the agreements with
FedMed, Americas Choice Provider Network, and Stratose makes Cxbladder
available to a significant proportion of US residents.
Pacific Edge Chief Executive Officer David Darling says national and regional
provider networks are a key component in the commercial fabric ensuring that
healthcare providers and technology suppliers are paid by healthcare payers
for treatment provided to patients.
"Our participation in these networks will give a large number of Americans
access to Cxbladder and its positive benefits as a quick, cost effective,
non-invasive and highly accurate cancer detection test that is particularly
appealing to US healthcare professionals, patients, and insurers."
Pacific Edge's agreement with MultiPlan will give MultiPlan's participating
providers and its clients' members access to Cxbladder. Approximately 900,000
providers participate in MultiPlan's provider networks and an estimated 68
million consumers have access to one or more of these networks.
Pacific Edge through its wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Edge Diagnostics USA
(PEDUSA) has launched Cxbladder in the US and is processing samples collected
using its proprietary Urine Sampling System at its custom built, CAP
accredited laboratory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
"Our sales and marketing teams are now focussed on the urologists and
clinicians who are treating the largest number of bladder cancer patients to
ensure they fully understand the value and benefits that Cxbladder provides
to them and their patients" says Jackie Walker, Chief Executive Officer of
PEDUSA.
"In addition we are advancing relationships with large commercial payers and
the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which provides
healthcare insurance for 100 million people or nearly a third of the American
population. Progress is being made with key customer segments including
Integrated Healthcare Systems, the Veterans Administration (VA), and Large
Urology Groups (LUGS), who are the point of contact for many patients
presenting with haematuria (blood in the urine) which is an early indicator
of possible bladder cancer."
More than one million Americans a year undergo medical investigation for
potential bladder cancer at an estimated cost in excess of US$1 billion.
Bladder cancer is one of the most expensive cancers to treat. The very high
recurrence rate of this disease, requiring some patients to receive expensive
monitoring for the rest of their lives, causes bladder cancer to have the
highest total medical costs of any cancer from detection to death. In the US,
the total medical cost approaches US$220,000 per patient.
For more information contact:
David Darling
Chief Executive Officer
Pacific Edge Ltd
P: +64 (3) 479 5800
ABOUT PACIFIC EDGE
Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) is a New Zealand based cancer diagnostic
company specialising in the discovery and commercialisation of diagnostic and
prognostic technology for the early detection and monitoring of cancer.
Products in development and in clinical trials are accurate and simple to use
genomic and proteomic tools for the earlier detection, improved
characterisation and better management of gastric, bladder, colorectal
cancers and melanoma. The company has completed and released its first
product for the detection of bladder cancer, Cxbladder, and is actively
marketing the product to physicians and clinicians in New Zealand, Australia
and the USA and soon in Spain.
www.pacificedge.co.nz
ABOUT PACIFIC EDGE DIAGNOSTICS
Pacific Edge takes its exciting cancer detection tests to market through its
wholly owned subsidiaries, Pacific Edge Diagnostics NZ Ltd and Pacific Edge
Diagnostics USA Ltd, and selected commercial partners in Australia and Spain,
Healthscope and Oryzon respectively.
www.pacificedgedx.com
ABOUT Cxbladder
Cxbladder is a proprietary, accurate molecular diagnostic test that enables
the non-invasive detection of bladder and other urinary tract cancers from a
small volume of urine. Cxbladder is commercialised in the USA as a Laboratory
Developed Test (LDT). It provides physicians and clinicians with a quick,
cost effective and accurate measure of the presence of the cancer, and
provides urologists with the opportunity to reduce their reliance on the need
for invasive tests such as cystoscopy. The Cxbladder cancer detection test
has been validated by a multicentre, international clinical study. Results
published in the Journal of Urology (Sept 2012) show that Cxbladder
out-performed all of the benchmark technologies in the clinical trial and
detected nearly all of the tumours of concern to a urologist; At a
performance of 82% sensitivity and 85% specificity the test sees 100% of T1,
100% of T2, 100% of T3, 100% of Tis and 100% of upper urinary tract cancers
as well as greater than 95% of high grade tumours.
www.cxbladder.com
ABOUT BLADDER CANCER
Globally, bladder cancer has the 9th highest incidence and the 4th highest
incidence for men. One of the early symptoms of bladder cancer is the
presence of blood in the urine, haematuria. People with haematuria often
present to their general practitioner before being referred on to a
urologist.
There are a number of 'at risk' occupations that have shown a much higher
incidence of bladder cancer. Fire fighters and fire control officers have
shown in a US study to have a twice the incidence of bladder cancer over non
fire fighters. Smoking is a significant contributing factor (over 50% in
males and 33% in females, and approximately one of every two new incidences
of bladder cancer is linked to smoking). Exposure to certain industrial
chemicals or carcinogens increases risks for some occupations e.g.
hairdressers, painters, printers, fire fighters and metal workers and
chemical engineers. Incidence increases with age so the older you are, the
greater the potential for bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer has a very high recurrence rate of approximately 50%-70% with
up to 30% of these recurring as later stage tumours. This is a higher
recurrence than for skin cancer! However, bladder cancers are highly
treatable, especially if detected in the early stages. If diagnosed early
there is a much higher probability of survival for early stage tumours
relative to later stage tumours. This makes timely and regular surveillance
and monitoring of this cancer a key element of the clinical process and of
the individual's annual healthcare plan.
End CA:00250847 For:PEB Type:GENERAL Time:2014-05-26 08:30:15
