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Appointment of Labquality Oy of Finland for 7 Countries
MISSISSAUGA, April 27, 2020 – Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, Microbix®), an award-winning life sciences innovator and exporter, announces the appointment of Labquality Oy (Labquality) as a distributor of its Quality Assessment Products (QAPs™) in seven (7) countries.
Under an agreement between the parties, Labquality has been appointed as distributor of Microbix’s quality assessment products (QAPs™) for Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden. As distributor, Labquality will provide marketing, distribution, and logistical support for Microbix’s QAPs. At present, there are four dozen such QAPs across the PROCEEDx™ and REDx™ Controls tradenames – to support whole-process accuracy of tests for bacterial and viral diseases by emulating patient samples while being consistent, non-infectious, stable, and cross-instrument compatible.
Based in Helsinki, Labquality is a Finnish owned and operated life sciences company that provides clinical laboratories with external quality assessment (EQA) programs to evaluate their proficiency and attain necessary accreditations. Labquality also provides quality controls (e.g., QAPs) and other reference materials to support the internal quality management systems of clinical laboratories. Labquality services approximately 6,500 customers in over 50 countries and maintains an extensive network of sub-distributors of its products and programs.
Labquality will incorporate Microbix’s QAPs into its EQA programs and sell PROCEEDx™ and REDx™ Controls branded QAPs directly to its clinical laboratory customers. This will include Microbix’s QAPs to support the accuracy of testing for respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), Flu A, Flu B, and RSV, as well as its leading-edge QAPs for high-risk types of HPV and other sexually-transmitted infections. Labquality already services clinical labs in the territories and is well-positioned to distribute the full QAPs catalogue.
Cameron Groome, CEO & President of Microbix, stated, “We’re pleased to have Labquality become our distribution partner for QAPs product lines for Scandinavia and Northern Europe. As an established proficiency testing program provider and product distributor in the region, they are highly-respected and well-known by both hospital and stand-alone labs. Our controls are therefore a natural addition to their product offerings and we are convinced the agreement will be successful for both our companies.”
Mia Lindström, Managing Director of Labquality, also commented, “We’re pleased to secure access to Microbix’s innovative QAPs for our laboratory customers. There is an ever-increasing need to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnostic testing that these products will help address. Training of Labquality staff about QAPs is already well advanced and we are now beginning to stock this product portfolio.”
About Microbix Biosystems
Microbix develops proprietary biological and technology solutions for human health and well-being, with sales now exceeding $1 million per month on average and approximately 80 skilled employees. It makes a wide range of critical biological materials for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs™) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure quality control of clinical diagnostic tests. Microbix antigens and QAPs are sold to many customers worldwide, at present primarily to multinational diagnostics companies and laboratory accreditation organizations. Microbix is ISO 9001 and 13485 accredited, FDA and Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides CE marked products.
Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably Kinlytic® urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots.
Microbix is a publicly-traded company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Distribution inquiries should be directed to sarah.sokol@microbix.com.
About Labquality Oy
Labquality is based in Helsinki, Finland and has annual turnover of approximately €8 million. It is wholly-owned by COR Group Oy, a health services firm with over 2,600 employees and annual turnover of approximately €350 million. Labquality is ISO 9001, 17021, and 17043 accredited and was founded in 1971.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes “forward-looking information,” as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, discussion of the distribution agreement or Labquality, the referenced product lines, Microbix’s business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results and stability, development projects such as those referenced in its corporate presentation, regulatory compliance and approvals, sales to foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity and timeliness of delivery), foreign currency and exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital and raising further capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements concerning anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect management’s current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking information is inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent the Company’s judgement as of the date of this new release, and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information.
Please visit www.microbix.com or www.sedar.com for recent Microbix news and filings.
For further information, please contact Microbix at:
| Cameron Groome, CEO
(905) 361-8910 |
Jim Currie, CFO
(905) 361-8910 |
Deborah Honig, Investor Relations
Adelaide Capital Markets (647) 203-8793 ir@microbix.com |