Dunedin cancer diagnostic company Pacific Edge has reached an agreement with the Canterbury District Health Board, under which its non-invasive bladder cancer test could replace the more invasive, expensive and time-consuming cytology testing.
Pacific Edge has announced a 12-month agreement with the CDHB.
After an initial 200 tests, its mainstay Cxbladder product is expected to replace cytology for CDHB patients with haematuria (blood in urine), in being assessed for bladder cancer.
Pacific Edge chief executive David Darling said the company had a long working relationship with both the CDHB and Urology Associates, the latter having been involved in evaluation of Cxbladder products.
‘‘This is a comprehensive process involving the whole healthcare community and represents a first for Pacific Edge in the formal provision of Cxbladder technology to replace cytology,'' he said.
When contacted, Mr Darling said Pacific Edge had not been in talks with the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) ‘‘given the challenges it is facing this year''; he said of its financial woes.
However, he hoped that by the end of the year, Pacific Edge and the SDHB could be in negotiation.
He said under CDHB's HealthPathways programme, Cxbladder would be available to 16%-18% of the country's urologists, who are all in the Canterbury region.
GPs around the South Island could also become involved. CDHB general manager for planning and funding, Carolyn Gullery, said Cxbladder's performance would be audited after the initial 200 tests.
‘‘The expected successful performance will see Cxbladder formally replace cytology on the CDHB's HealthPathways, making it available through GPs to thousands of patients cared for in the Canterbury region,'' she said in a statement.
Dr Peter Davidson of Urology Associates said an arrangement with the Canterbury integrated laboratory services would make Cxbladder sampling systems readily available to the region's healthcare providers, through a network of lab collection centres and general practices.
Samples would be sent to Pacific Edge's Dunedin laboratory for analysis and fast turn-around of test results.
