Exalenz Bioscience Ltd. (TASE:EXEN) has signed its third major three-year distribution agreement in the US for the company's BreathID system for the detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacterium. The company did not disclose the name of the distributor, saying only that it was one of the largest distributors in the US in the gastroenterology (GI) field.
Exalenz said that there were more than 20,000 gastroenterologists in the US, as well as 5,000 gastroenterology clinics and non-hospital testing laboratories.
The distribution agreement is not exclusive. The distributor has undertaken to set up a distribution and sales network with skilled staffers, who will undergo training in accordance with Exalenz's specifications; promote the sale of Exalenz's products; and to present the products at conferences in the US.
Exalenz said that, in the past, most tests for H. pylori were carried out by gastroenterologists, but that these tests are now conducted by general practitioners, who are the company's primary target market. The company nevertheless stresses the importance of sales to gastroenterologists for three reasons: gastroenterologists conduct more than one million H. pylori tests a year; these are specialists and opinion-setters in the field, who are largely responsible for determining treatment for H. pylori related illnesses; and, in 2008, the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) published guidelines that breath tests for H. pylori was the preferred diagnostic method.
In June, Exalenz announced that it had completed its distribution network in the US and added 1,000 sales reps for its products there, by signing distribution agreements with two nationwide medical devices distributors. The company did not disclose those distributors' names, either.
Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected Exalenz's application to market the BreathID system for the diagnosis of liver damage.
Exalenz's share price rose 3.7% by early afternoon today to NIS 0.94, giving a market cap of NIS 100 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 13, 2010
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