Appointment of Thomas Scientific as U.S. Distributor
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MISSISSAUGA, July 7, 2021 – Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQB: MBXBF, Microbix®), a life sciences innovator and exporter, announces the appointment of Thomas Scientific LLC as distributor of Microbix’s quality assessment products (QAPs™) for the United States.
Under an agreement between the parties, Thomas Scientific has been appointed as the second distributor of Microbix’s QAPs in the United States. Thomas Scientific will thereby provide customer service, sales and marketing, distribution, and related logistical support for Microbix’s QAPs. Thomas Scientific is one of the largest pure-play scientific distributors in the United States, delivering relevant diagnostic products to healthcare professionals, hospitals, and clinical laboratories to improve the lives of patients. Thomas Scientific provides advanced logistics, including strategically-situated warehousing facilities throughout the territory to enable cost-effective and rapid provisioning. Thomas Scientific has a strong track-record with its large customer-base, employing over 175 general sales professionals and five specialists in molecular diagnostics with a specific focus on infectious diseases. Thomas Scientific will thereby bring highly-professional service to U.S.-based infectious disease diagnostics customers for QAPs.
Microbix’s QAPs line now consists of over 70 products to help support the accuracy of various diagnostic tests for infectious diseases. This line includes QAPs to support the accuracy of molecular (e.g., RT-PCR) diagnostic tests for variants of concern of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19 disease) – including the so-called UK, South African and Brazilian variants and, in late-stage development, QAPs to support tests for the “Delta-Plus” variant. It is important to patient care for public health authorities to know whether test accuracy is impacted by these variant strains and the extent of their prevalence in the population.
Thomas Scientific is well-regarded in the industry and is now investing to broaden its portfolio of molecular diagnostics products. The addition of Microbix QAPs is a strategic addition to its product line, facilitating a more complete offering for its customers. Further information about Thomas Scientific is available at https://www.thomassci.com.
Phil Casselli, SVP of Sales and Business Development of Microbix stated, “We’re aiming for the U.S. market to achieve 10x the QAPs revenue we do in Canada, and now with 175 active sales professionals generating leads and five molecular specialists helping close them, our targets should be achieved.”
Carl Hilliker, Molecular Director of Business Development at Thomas Scientific also commented, “We are enhancing our molecular diagnostics assay portfolio, and the addition of Microbix QAPs, standards, and controls to our portfolio will facilitate substantial opportunities for engagement with our growing customer base. Microbix’s QAPs cover many high-volume tests and are already endorsed by many of the largest makers of diagnostic tests.”
About Microbix Biosystems
Microbix develops proprietary biological technology solutions for human health and well-being, with about 90 skilled employees and sales now approaching C$ 2.0 million per month. 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 the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Microbix antigens enable the antibody tests of over 100 international diagnostics companies, while its QAPs are sold to clinical laboratory accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical laboratories. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, distributed by 1WA (Oneworld Accuracy Inc.), Alpha-Tec Systems, Inc., Diagnostic International Distribution SpA., Labquality Oy, The Medical Supply Company of Ireland, R-Biopharm AG, SDT Molecular Pte Ltd,, Seegene Canada Inc., and Thomas Scientific LLC. Microbix is ISO 9001 and 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, 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 viral transport medium (DxTM™) to stabilize patient samples for lab-based molecular diagnostic testing and Kinlytic® urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots. Microbix is traded on the TSX and OTCQB, and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Sales or distribution inquiries should be directed to customer.service@microbix.com.
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 Thomas Scientific LLC, 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.
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Microbix®, DxTM™, Kinlytic®, and QAPs™ are trademarks of Microbix Biosystems Inc.