The Canadian company develops proprietary rapid blood tests based on lateral flow and lab-on-a-chip immunoassay technologies for nutritional status of patients. Company has lateral flow tests for rapid measurement of vitamin D and ferritin, additionally tests for vitamin A, vitamin B12 and folate in the late-stage development.
Based on years of expertise in developing point of care testing products for the human health applications, initially the company has developed a blood test for the detection of vitamin D. A patient’s finger is pricked with a lancet and a single drop of blood is placed into the sample well on the testing cassette and 2-3 drops of buffer solution are added into the adjacent well. After 10 minutes, results represented by lines with different intensities appear in the window of the test cassette. The results are read by a cube reader, which is a small, portable and easy-to-use lateral flow assay reader.
Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, for reduced risk for osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults; rickets in children, as well as for improved resistance against certain diseases. Vitamin D has increasingly been linked to other conditions: cardiovascular disease; hypertension, diabetes, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and autoimmune and infectious diseases and lately Covid-19, among others. These conditions are major and costly public health issues on a global scale. Recently, dental implant clinics and dental surgeons are showing strong interest in company’s vitamin D testing product. The product provides an additional tool to evaluate the bone health of implant/surgical patients.
This company’s strong test portfolio provides patients and healthcare professionals with cost-effective and reliable point-of-care testing tools that will meet the growing needs of the healthcare industry, regulators and consumers globally. This company’s rapid tests cost up to 90% less than other conventional lab tests.
The vitamin D test is CE marked and currently being marketed in many parts of the world, including Canada, US, China, India, Philippines and Middle East. This Canadian company is seeking distribution partners in Germany, France, England, Italy and Spain in order to increase market share and establish collaborations for future products. This cooperation will be direct marketing and sales, which is specifically targeting healthcare providers, pharmacies or dental implant/surgery specialists.
Advantages & innovations
Rapid tests offer numereous advantages over laboratory test methods, which are very expensive and turn around times are much longer. This company’s rapid tests are faster and much more economical alternatives to the lab tests. This company’s rapid tests cost up to 90% less than other conventional lab tests.
Stage of development
Already on the market
Partner sought
Distributors for distribution agreement, which are targeting medical clinics, pharmacies and dental implant/surgery specialists. The potential distribution partner should have an established name and strong customer base in medical, pharma and dental implant markets. Their sales network is expected to have experience in lateral flow tests and their customer service should be able to provide proper after sales service as needed.