China Medical Technologies Acquires HPV-DNA Biosensor Chip and SPR-based Analysis System
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China Medical Technologies, Inc. has announces that it has entered into a definitive asset acquisition agreement with Molecular Diagnostics Technologies Limited to purchase its HPV-DNA Biosensor Chip and Surface Plasmon Resonance based Analysis System (the SPR System) for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer and sexually transmitted disorders.
Under the terms of the asset acquisition agreement, the Company will pay an aggregate cash consideration of US$345 million in installments with the final payment to be made one year after the closing of the Acquisition.
The Company expects to use its existing available cash to pay for the Acquisition. The closing of the Acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in December 2008 or January 2009. No regulatory approvals are needed for the consummation of the Acquisition.
HPV is a common virus that infects the skin and mucous membranes of humans, causing various kinds of warts as well as cervical cancer. More than 100 types of HPV have been identified. While infection by most types of HPV are relatively harmless, some can cause skin or genital warts (low-risk) and others can cause cervical cancer (high-risk).
Almost all types of cervical cancer are associated with high-risk HPV infection. However, HPV tests available in the China market are insufficient in addressing clinical needs as they can only classify the virus into the high-risk or the low-risk category or have high false positive or negative rates in identifying specific HPV genotypes.
HPV-DNA Biosensor Chip (the HPV Chip) is a label-free DNA chip for the diagnosis of HPV infection and genotyping of HPV. The HPV Chip can identify each of 24 distinctive common HPV genotypes, including 16 high-risk genotypes and 8 low-risk genotypes.
The HPV Chip not only has high sensitivity and specificity, but also has short detection time. It can also identify mixed HPV infection and can be used to guide individual therapy and vaccination. The HPV Chip is expected to be used in the gynecology and dermatology departments of hospitals.
The SPR System utilizes Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology, the leading biosensor technology in molecular biology. SPR technology has been successfully used for the analysis of proteins, nucleic acids and viruses for the past 20 years and has become as a powerful platform for life sciences, drug discovery, medicine and food safety. HPV can be detected by adding pathological samples on the HPV Chip which is analyzed with the SPR System.
The SPR System is label-free with high throughput, high speed and a high degree of automation. The detection results can be displayed on a real-time and online basis. The SPR System can be used in various clinical diagnostic applications, such as the detection of biomarkers related to infectious diseases, cancers, cardiovascular disorders and immune system disorders. The Company plans to develop and introduce more products for such applications.
