Signs Two New Distributor Agreements
Adelaide, Feb 16, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Reproductive Health Science Limited (
ASX:RHS) ("RHS" or the "Company") is pleased to advise it has signed 3-year exclusive distribution agreements with distributors based in Israel and South Africa, for the sale of its lead product EmbryoCellect(TM).
EmbryoCellect(TM) is a pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) kit designed to increase the chance of a successful IVF cycle.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority
RHS has signed a distribution agreement with Al-Rad Medical for the sale of EmbryoCellect(TM) in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Al-Rad Medical is located near Tel Aviv and supplies all 25 Israeli IVF laboratories with media, equipment and devices from leading manufacturers worldwide. Al-Rad are already in discussions with potential EmbryoCellect(TM) customers and will also promote the product on their website and at IVF conferences.
Annually, approximately 32,000 cycles of IVF are undertaken in Israel. The Israeli Government provides free, unlimited IVF procedures for women up to the age of 45 for up to two babies. This policy has made Israel the biggest user of IVF per capita in the world. In Israel, four percent of children are IVF babies, compared to approximately 1 percent in the USA.
Southern Africa:
RHS has also signed a 3-year exclusive distribution agreement with Delfran Pharmaceuticals for the sale of EmbryoCellectTM in the South African Development Community (SADC) countries, which include Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Delfran Pharmaceuticals is a family owned business based in Centurion, near Johannesburg, focussed on distributing products for the fertility and female health care markets. Delfran will use their strong connections into the local IVF clinics to market EmbryoCellectTM.
The South African Register of Assisted Reproductive Techniques (SARA) Committee reports that in 2011 there were more than 5,600 IVF cycles conducted by the 14 participating South African IVF clinics, representing an almost 15% increase from 2010. SARA estimates the need for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatment in South Africa at approximately 75,000 cycles annually. With only 7.3% of this need being met in 2011, this demonstrates significant market growth potential.
EmbryoCellect(TM) sales model:
RHS is in the process of establishing a network of international distributors with established sales channels into the IVF market. RHS will sell EmbryoCellect(TM) directly to customers in Australia and other regions where distributors are not engaged.
Commentary on market trends
The international IVF rate varies from country to country but has been estimated to continue to grow at 10% per annum through to 2020. The rate of increase will vary between jurisdictions with the newer entrants having the greater growth potential.
Country IVF cycles Population IVF cycles per per year (millions) million peopleTurkey 45,000 76 587India 80,000 1,265 63 Indonesia 3,500 252 14South Africa 5,500 54 102 Israel 32,000 8 3,902Australia 62,000 23 2,605 China 250,000 1,361 184USA 163,000 320 509
The rate of PGS in these IVF cycles will also vary and will be dependant on the local regulations and advice of clinicians to their individual patients. It has been estimated that PGS was used on 3% of IVF cycles globally in 2013, up from 2% in 2012. RHS has assumed an uptake rate of PGS per IVF cycle as being around 20% by 2020.
About Reproductive Health Science Ltd
Reproductive Health Science (ASX:RHS) is an advanced biotech company that has successfully developed a test to assess embryos for chromosomal abnormalities prior to implantation as part of an of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) cycle. The two component system has an immediate application to improve the success rate of IVF. The Company's lead product EmbryoCellect(TM) is aimed at improving health and research outcomes through the application of its frontier technologies with the initial primary focus of improving IVF success. Launched in 2014, EmbryoCellect(TM) contains reagents for 20 tests at a list price of AUD$3,600 per kit. RHS's assumption for business modelling purposes, based on IVF industry experience, is that there are 4 embryos per IVF cycle.
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