Luminex Corporation and Mingyuan Medicare Development Company Sign Distribution Agreement
December 15th, 2008
2008 DEC 15 -- Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, and Mingyuan Medicare Development Company, a leading supplier of biomedical products in China, announced the signing of a distribution and supply agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Mingyuan will serve as the exclusive distributor in China and Hong Kong of a series of newborn screening products being developed for the diagnosis of genetic disorders.
"Accurate and efficient newborn screening is essential to good pediatric care," said Chien Hoe Yong, Henry, CEO and Executive Director of Mingyuan. "With Luminex's xMAP® Technology, we can quickly and precisely screen infants for many genetic disorders at once. The technology and new tests being developed will help us advance the accuracy and speed of newborn screening across China and Hong Kong."
There are over 20 million babies born in China each year, and newborn screening of genetic disorders is mandated by the Chinese government. Genetic disorders such as phenylketonuria (PKU), congenital hypothyroidism (CH), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency affect the development of thousands of newborns each year in China. If these disorders are not detected and treated early, the affected newborns may experience significant cognitive development delays and ongoing health complications.
The newborn screening tests to be distributed by Mingyuan will be developed by Luminex utilizing proprietary xMAP Technology. Instead of detecting each genetic disorder one at a time, Luminex's proprietary multiplexing xMAP Technology can simultaneously analyze up to 100 unique assays within a single sample, making the large scale screening more efficient, accurate and less costly.
"When genetic disorders are detected in infants early, doctors can monitor the children for health complications and begin treatments quickly. This prevents health and development complications and potentially improves an infant's quality of life," said Douglas Bryant, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Luminex. "We are excited to work with Mingyuan to bring novel newborn screening products to China and Hong Kong and contribute to the well being of the children in these nations."
Mingyuan also will distribute Luminex analyzers in China and Hong Kong.
About Mingyuan Medicare Development Company (stock code: 00233)
Mingyuan Medicare (www.mymedicare.com.hk) is a leading bio-medical company in China that develops, manufactures and markets innovative medicare solutions for the early detection and prevention of diseases. The products currently include the proprietary protein chips used for multi tumors screening and the licensed HPV DNA testing kits used for cervical cancer screening.
About Luminex Corporation
Luminex Corporation develops, manufactures and markets proprietary biological testing technologies with applications throughout the diagnostic and life sciences industries. The Company's xMAP® multiplex solutions include an open-architecture, multi-analyte technology platform that delivers fast, accurate and cost-effective bioassay results to markets as diverse as pharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and biomedical research, including the genomics and proteomics markets. The Company's xMAP Technology is sold worldwide and is already in use in leading clinical laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies. Further information on Luminex Corporation or xMAP Technology can be obtained at www.luminexcorp.com.
Contacts:
Mingyuan Medicare Development Company
Chien Hoe Yong, Henry, CEO and Executive Director
852-3102-3201
henrychien@mingyuan-hk.com
Corporate:
Lau Yuen Sun, Adrian, Vice President
852-3102-3201
adrian@mingyuan-hk.com
Investor Relations:
Kelvin Dou
852-3102-2203
kelvin@mingyuan-hk.com
Luminex Corporation
Corporate:
Harriss T. Currie, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
512-219-8020
hcurrie@luminexcorp.com
Investor Relations:
Mimi Torrington, Director of Investor Relations
512-219-8020
mtorrington@luminexcorp.com
Media:
Nicole L. Cottrill
615-327-7999
ncottrill@seigenthaler.com
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Keywords: Medicare and Medicaid, Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedicine, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Dehydrogenase, Endocrinology, Enzyme Research, Genetic Disorders, Genetics, Genomics, Health Policy, Marketing and Licensing Agreements, Medicare, Metabolic Disease, Pediatric, Pediatrics, Phenylketonuria, Quality of Life.
This article was prepared by Biotech Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Biotech Business Week via NewsRx.com.
