NZAX-listed TruScreen shares jumped 14 per cent after the cervical cancer test developer announced distribution agreements for the sale of its screening device in multiple new markets.
The Auckland-based company last traded at 16 cents, up 2 cents, after it announced deals in territories with a total screening population of61 million women in regions "with a historical lack of quality cervical screening programs or with local screening practices that vary considerably in quality." The shares, however, have fallen 40 per cent over the past 12 months.
TruScreen's real time cervical cancer technology uses a digital wand which is placed on the surface of the cervix to measure electrical and optical signals from the surrounding tissue and can operate outside the traditional laboratory infrastructure.
In Europe it has entered agreements in 10 countries, including Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, Slovenia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The agreement covers a target population of around 34 million women. In Central Asia it has inked a deal to distribute the device in Kazakhstan, where there are approximately 5 million women of screening age. The company also said it has recently entered an agreement to distribute TruScreen in Iran, where the target population numbers 22 million.
"The execution of these distribution agreements announced today significantly enhances the potential for sales growth in Europe and other markets," said chief executive Marty Dillon.
