Appointment of SELFCheck Distributor

RNS Number : 6786S

ValiRx PLC

24 November 2011

 

24 November 2011

ValiRx Plc (AIM: VAL)

ValiRx has Appointed a Distributor in the East Midlands Area to Expand the Sales & Reach of its SELFCheck Personal Health Screening Test kits

"Thinking that there is not a problem is just not thinking!"

ValiRx plc, a publicly listed London Stock Exchange (AIM) life science company with a focus on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics for personalised medicine, through its subsidiary, ValiMedix Ltd, is the exclusive supplier of the SELFCheck brand of Personal Health Screening Tests, which are increasingly becoming available in pharmacies throughout the UK.

ValiRx has recently expanded its distribution network through the appointment of East Midlands based, Campdale Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a wholesaler/pharmacy group, located in Whitwick, near Coalville, Leicestershire.

ValiRx is looking to expand sales and grow awareness of the SELFCheck home screening diagnostic tests to satisfy demand from an increasing number of people who check themselves regularly, to detect early signs of what may be the presence of an infection or an underlying condition such as Diabetes, raised Cholesterol, Cancer and Sexually Transmitted Diseases - thus enabling the individual to seek medical attention promptly.

Details of the SELFCheck tests will be distributed to pharmacies in and around Leicester and the East Midlands later this month.

Dr Satu Vainikka, CEO of ValiRx commented: "I am delighted that we are now launching our self-test products into the East Midlands region.  According to the Diabetes UK report ("Diabetes in the UK 2010: Key Statistics on Diabetes, March 2010"), the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes in the East Midlands, which has large South Asian communities, is close to four-fold greater in Bangladeshi, and almost three-fold greater in Pakistani and Indian males than those in the general population. Among women, diabetes is more than five times as likely to be diagnosed among Pakistani women, at least three times as likely in Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women, and two-and-a-half times as likely in Indian women, compared with women in the general population.

"Early detection is very much the key when successfully addressing a great many illnesses and Campdale Pharmaceuticals will be working with ValiMedix Ltd to promote increased awareness of the availability of the SELFCheck screening tests and the benefits of early detection and medical intervention where possible and necessary."   

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

ValiRx plc	Tel: [phone]
Dr Satu Vainikka	www.ValiRx.com
Peckwater PR	Tel: [phone]
Tarquin Edwards	[e-mail]

Notes for Editors

ValiRx Plc

ValiRx Plc is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel technologies and products in oncology therapeutics and diagnostics. The product focus is in the epigenomic analysis and treatment of cancer, but the technologies can be applied to other fields as well, such as neurology and inflammatory diseases.

The Company listed on AIM in October 2006 and is creating a portfolio of innovative products through investment in specific development projects.

ValiMedix Ltd is a UK-based company supplying over the counter (OTC) Health Screening Tests via pharmacies and is dedicated to building itself into one of Europe's largest Point of Care diagnostics companies.

OTC screening and other Point of Care products have evolved significantly since the introduction of the first generation of products such as pregnancy tests. Current products include screening for cancer, tropical diseases such as malaria, drugs of abuse, as well as the better known devices aimed at cholesterol assessment and selected acute diseases including several Sexually Transmitted Infections such as HIV.

 The majority of tests sold today rely on either chemical or antibody reactions that produce a detectable colour change to read the result. The core technologies employed are reliable and robust, with advancement and growth in the sector dependent on accuracy, reproducibility and time of reaction. Tests that have historically taken a number of hours can now be carried out in minutes.

Point of care products offer rapid, easy to use methods for quantitative or qualitative assessment of a range of disease conditions.  The benefit of such tests lies in the availability of test results within a matter of minutes and without a requirement to send samples to centralised laboratories, also removing any need for multiple appointments involving a clinic. The availability of such products via pharmacies appeals to wide sections of the community that find it difficult or inconvenient to make clinic appointments during the working week.

The cost and provision of cost effective healthcare has become a major challenge in the UK and EU where an ageing population, an economic down turn and the ever increasing cost of medical treatment have seen a change in the strategic planning of healthcare delivery.  

Acceptance of POC screening tests offers direct savings in terms of early detection of disease and faster clinical and medical interventions where abnormal outcomes occur. Equally important is the speedy 'all-clear' diagnosis for patients who would have exhibited negative test results, but who would still have used up valuable laboratory resource.

 

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