DUBLIN, Ohio, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Under a newly signed distribution agreement, Cardinal Health, Inc. will market, sell and distribute MonoGen, Inc.'s advanced new automation technology for diagnostic laboratories. The MonoGen system automates the preparation of patient specimens for cell-based diagnosis. The agreement gives Cardinal Health exclusive rights to distribute MonoGen’s proprietary pathology products in the United States. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The companies are launching the new specimen-preparation system, called MonoPrep(R), this week in Chicago at the 52nd annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Cytopathology. The meeting is being held November 12 through November 17 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
The MonoPrep(R) system is designed to enhance laboratory workflow, reduce labor costs and improve specimen identification and test reliability. The current version of the system is for a broad range of non-gynecological and general cytology applications, a rapidly expanding segment of the diagnostics market.
“Excellent patient care begins with excellent diagnosis,” said Mark T. McLoughlin, vice president and general manager of Scientific Products Distribution at Cardinal Health. “Specimen automation is a new and fast- growing capability for the pathology lab. We’re getting in at the front end of what could be an entirely new platform in diagnostics.”
“We selected Cardinal Health as our strategic distribution partner because of its strong customer focus, experience, vision and forward-looking plans for the anatomic and molecular-pathology segment,” said Norman J. Pressman, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of MonoGen. “We also value the depth and scale of Cardinal Health’s infrastructure as a provider of medical devices, supplies, diagnostic products and pharmaceuticals.”
As Cardinal Health and MonoGen develop a customer base for this new technology, MonoGen also is preparing for the release of its next-generation system, which targets women’s health. The company is completing a clinical trial of the gynecological MonoPrep(R) Pap Test system and expects to apply later this year for marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. ( http://www.cardinal.com/ ) is a leading provider of products and services supporting the health-care industry. Cardinal Health develops, manufactures, packages and markets products for patient care; develops drug-delivery technologies; distributes pharmaceuticals and medical, surgical and laboratory supplies; and offers consulting and other services that improve quality and efficiency in health care. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health employs more than 55,000 people on six continents and produces annual revenues of more than $60 billion. Cardinal Health is ranked No. 17 on the current Fortune 500 list and named one of the best U.S. companies by Forbes magazine for 2004.
About MonoGen
MonoGen, Inc. ( http://www.monogen.com/ ) of Vernon Hills, Illinois, is a privately held corporation focused on providing products that automate anatomic and molecular pathology laboratories, particularly the process of preparing and analyzing cellular specimens. MonoGen’s products have been designed not only to improve cytology test preparations and analyses, but also to serve as a universal platform for more sensitive and effective tests for non-gynecological cancers. MonoGen’s intrinsic value is protected by a broad-patent portfolio in specimen preparation, molecular diagnostics, and imaging and information systems.
Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Cardinal Health’s Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form 10-Q reports (including all amendments to those reports) and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) the costs, difficulties, and uncertainties related to the integration of acquired businesses, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships or changes to the terms of those relationships, changes in the distribution patterns or reimbursement rates for health-care products and/or services, the results, effects or timing of any inquiry or investigation by any regulatory authority or any legal and administrative proceedings, and general economic and market conditions. Cardinal Health undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.
Cardinal Health, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Donna Gaidamak of Cardinal Health, Inc.,+1-847-578-4434, or donna.gaidamak@cardinal.com