Dunedin cancer diagnostic company Pacific Edge has been awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which will be used to further its expansion into Asian markets.
Pacific Edge (PEB) will match the $600,000 with its own funds.
PEB's chief executive David Darling said Southeast Asia had been identified as offering exciting potential, with two distinct customer segments.
Firstly, there were patients requiring testing and management for bladder cancer, and secondly, the rapidly growing number of medical tourists visiting the region for regular wellness and medical checkups, where PEB's mainstay Cxbladder tests could be part of a battery of tests.
''Logistically and commercially, Singapore is a great gateway to the markets of Southeast Asia,'' Mr Darling said.
Earlier this week, PEB's Dunedin laboratory gained US regulatory approval so US test samples from its Cxbladder can now be commercially processed there and the service can also be offered to other markets where the US approval is recognised.
Mr Darling said PEB had already made good progress in its initial investigations into Southeast Asia.
A ''user programme'' trial had been launched at the prestigious Tan Tock Seng hospital in Singapore earlier this year, and there was potential in Bangkok and Taipei, he said.
