LOCAL ASX-listed biomedical company Xcell Diagnostics hopes to operate a US subsidiary by the end of the year to open up the American market for its revolutionary skin cancer detection device developed by its recent acquisition, German medical technology company Visiomed AG.
Xcell Diagnostic’s chief executive officer Saliba Sassine said negotiations for the takeover of Visiomed AG continued for over six months and included extensive due diligence.
“Visiomed’s parent company (ZM Group) are organic vision experts
and develop technology like face recognition. They started up a subsidiary for medical purposes and they taught one of its technology systems to recognise melanomas,” Mr Sassine said.
“The parent company wanted to concentrate on the security technology business and we proposed that they put Visiomed into a biomedical company and become the largest single share-holder. They agreed to that.”
Xcell Diagnostics set up the wholly owned subsidiary Visiomed Australasia Pty Ltd in recent weeks and ZM Group now have a 19.9 per cent shareholding in Xcell Diagnostics.
Mr Sassine said Xcell Diagnostics was now eyeing potential US firms to help take the microDERM skin cancer detection device into the lucrative American medical market.
“We are looking to set up a subsidiary in the US and we hope to do that this year. We wouldn’t go it alone and the subsidiary would most likely be a joint venture. I’ve had experience selling products in the US and you do need a US partner on the ground.”
The microDERM technology already has US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Class 1 approval and Therapeutic Goods Administration approval.
“Next week we sign the first licensing agreement and we have a distributor on the East Coast,” Mr Sassine said.
Mr Sassine said he is cautious of foreshadowing initial strong sales.
“It does take time, it will be a very good business and it gives us a great platform.”
He said the buy-out of Visiomed AG made for a nice change in the Australian biomedical industry.
“Over the past ten years Australian biotech companies have been bought out by US and European interests but in this case it is the reverse.”
Xcell Diagnostics also owns InfaMed Ltd, which was setup by Perth child health researcher and WA Business News 40under40 winner Dr Paul Watt.
Dr Watt’s invention, the Funhaler, improves a child’s ability to self-medicate asthma medicine by using incentive toys attached to the breath-driven device.
Mr Sassine said that Xcell Diagnostics was awaiting FDA approval of the Funhaler and would embark on a full commercial release of the product in 2004.
