Anteo Diagnostics looks to expand market footprint in Chinese in-vitro market
Anteo has entered into a distribution agreement with a major China based diagnostic product and distribution company.
Chemistry company Anteo Diagnostics (ASX: ADO) has asserted that it has found “an ideal partner” to distribute its AnteoBind Conjugation Kits throughout China.
Earlier today, Anteo said it had signed a distribution agreement with Chinese company Shanghai GeneoDx Biotechnology, a diagnostic product and distribution company, currently affiliated to China National Pharmaceutical Group (SINOPHARM), a Chinese state-owned enterprise with annual revenues of around CNY247 billion (A$49 billion) and total assets of almost CNY200 billion (A$40 billion).
GeneoDx will have the exclusive right to market, sell and distribute Anteo’s range of AnteoBind products in China, specifically within the Chinese In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) market and targeting “market-leading Chinese manufacturers of Point of Care (PoC) and diagnostics products” according to Anteo.
The terms of the deal state that Anteo and GeneoDx have agreed to conduct a comprehensive promotional campaign targeting prospective major Chinese customers with the purpose of gathering market-based feedback to further refine the value proposition of Anteo’s products.
After a mutually-agreed initial review, GeneoDx will then undertake a full-scale countrywide product launch canvasing a broad base of prospective customers with the aim of capturing early evaluators of Anteo’s products and to establish a business plan for next year.
To support these activities, Anteo has committed to providing comprehensive training for GeneoDx staff in relation to the operations benefits and use of the new Anteo Conjugation Kits, and also, to support GeneoDx customers during both the product introduction phase and the assay research and development process.
Anteo has also declared that its comprehensive in-market plan in collaboration with GeneoDx provides a “significant opportunity and a systematic approach to establishing Anteo’s new particle Conjugation Kits using the Company’s patented AnteoBind technology in the rapidly growing China PoC lateral flow-based immunoassay market.”
Chinese market
According to market research, the Chinese IVD market is forecast to double in size from US$3.2 billion (A$4.4 billion) in 2017 to nearly US$6 billion (A$8.3 billion) by 2022.
Meanwhile, the parallel PoC market is considered to comprise 20% of the IVD market and is therefore forecast to represent a sizeable US$1.2 billion (A$1.6 billion) target by 2022.
Anteo says that while the China PoC market is served by prominent IVD market players from the US and Europe, China hosts a vibrant, diverse and rapidly growing PoC manufacturing sector “ready to embrace technological improvements in their PoC assay development programs”, an ambition Anteo hopes to help secure with its proprietary product range.
“The data package Anteo completed earlier this year, clearly defines and proves the benefits Anteo technology can provide when incorporated during the early development phase of PoC Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) tests,” according to Anteo.
The ASX-listed battery technology developer explained that GeneoDx provides an “unprecedented opportunity” to realise sustained commercial success as Anteo’s products are incorporated into the finished and approved PoC assays that will be pitched at the Chinese and global markets.
“We are really glad to have this great opportunity to introduce Anteo’s novel functional coating technology to our customers in Diagnostics and Life Sciences. We have witnessed a strong expansion of these sectors and we are excited to work together with Anteo’s team to advance AnteoBind product sales and widen its applications in China,” said Mr Xia Xiaokai, general manager of GeneoDx.