As part of Novacyt’s strategy to acquire Primerdesign, the company has identified future growth partnerships within the business, in particular in the Asia Pacific region.
Utilising Novacyt’s existing sales channels, the Company has been able to increase the installed base of instruments in the Asia Pacific of Primerdesign’s genesig q16 instrument.
The order, which was for over 100 instruments, represents approximately 50% of the total q16 instruments sold, since their launch in early 2015 and is from a single customer, with payment to be provided ahead of delivery of the instruments.
Each installed genesig q16 instrument works exclusively with Novacyt’s menu of approximately 550 genesig reagents and therefore will also generate recurring revenues from genesig reagents sales in the future.
Novacyt continues to experience strong demand in the Asia Pacific region for its next generation liquid based cytology (LBC) system, NOVAprep — further reinforcing the Company’s decision to expand its commercial activities across the region.
As reported by the Company on 16 August 2017, the first half of 2017 saw NOVAprep sales increase by 243% to €346,000 compared with H1 2016 and specifically in China, NOVAprep sales increased from €42,000 in the whole of 2016 to over €270,000 during the first half of 2017.
Sales momentum in China and the wider Asia Pacific market continues into the second half of 2017. Based on this initial success, the Asia Pacific, particularly China, remains a key growth region for Novacyt and further investment in commercial infrastructure is planned during the second half of 2017.
In addition to its current wholly owned subsidiary in China, the Company is evaluating the establishment of another direct sales and marketing subsidiary in a key market of the region and it also continues to evaluate the potential of the Japanese market for its products.
Graham Mullis, Group CEO of Novacyt, said: “Our recognition of Asia Pacific, in particular China, as a potentially significant growth market and subsequent investment into the region over the last three years has successfully resulted in sustainable growth opportunities for Novacyt’s proprietary products.
“The establishment of a new partnership with an important distributor in China for the q16 instruments has resulted in this single, material order. With an increasing demand for our recently approved NOVAprep system, China and the wider Asia Pacific region continues to be a key area of focus for the Group.”
