SYDNEY, Australia, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Unitract Ltd. today announced it has signed a Heads of Agreement with Shanghai Kindly Enterprise Development (Group) Co., Limited (“KDL”), one of the largest medical device and syringe manufacturers and distributors in China, forming a strategic partnership expected to deliver long term value as Unitract begins to realize its ambitions in the global safety syringe market.
The Agreement provides for Unitract and KDL to collaborate in the manufacturing, sales and distribution of Unitract’s full syringe range for the Chinese market. This collaboration centers on Unitract and KDL jointly adapting Unitract’s proprietary automated manufacturing and assembly process to produce Unitract’s clinical range of products in China. The Unitract clinical range has been designed to meet the injection safety requirements of healthcare workers worldwide.
Unitract will grant an exclusive license to KDL to sell and distribute Unitract’s products to the Chinese market and KDL will pay royalties to Unitract on all such sales. In addition, KDL will fund all capital expenditures required to manufacture Unitract’s clinical product range including plant, equipment, clean room construction and maintenance at its main facility in Shanghai, China.
KDL will also sell and distribute the 1mL Unitract Safe Syringe in China, utilizing syringes manufactured at Unitract’s St. Marys plant in Australia.
This partnership is a major step forward for Unitract in targeting the Chinese market. KDL is one of the top three medical device companies in China with an extensive sales and distribution network, servicing a total syringe market estimated at 6 billion syringes per annum. Beyond market access in China, the Agreement also provides to Unitract a solid base for production and supply of its clinical syringe range in order to meet anticipated global demand. Utilizing KDL to produce the Unitract clinical range will speed the time to market significantly for Unitract while reducing the cash and human resources required by Unitract during the initiation of manufacturing and the required approval processes.
Zhang Xianmiao, KDL President, said the range of Unitract safety syringes look set to become a cornerstone of KDL’s business. “We believe Unitract’s technology is best-of-class. Since 1991 we have been researching the safety syringe market, but up until now we have declined to produce and/or distribute safety syringes because we have not seen any products that provide the level of safety required to create substantial market demand. I believe this partnership represents significant growth opportunities for both of our companies.”
“We’re also excited with the opportunity to deliver the Unitract 1ml Safe Syringe to our local market. We believe the unique independent non re-use feature and automatic retraction of the Unitract 1mL Safe Syringe will significantly reduce the transmission of HIV/Aids and other blood borne viruses. This is both an endorsement of Unitract’s product and its business plan for the global safety syringe market,” he added.
The partnership is a milestone in implementing Unitract’s strategic business plan and places the Company in a strong position to not only gain market access in China, but also production and product supply to service expected global market demand.
Alan Shortall, Unitract CEO, said the partnership and the significant financial commitment by KDL is a strong endorsement of the Unitract product range from a respected and well-established medical device manufacturer. “Finding the right partner in this industry requires extensive research and patience. We feel this partnership is a strong match with very complimentary capabilities in R&D, manufacturing and distribution networks.”
He added: “KDL has been in this industry for 17 years, employs around 3,000 people, and manufactures its products to the highest international standards for worldwide distribution for the world’s leading healthcare brands. KDL was the first syringe company in China to achieve regulatory approval of their products for Europe (CE marking). The company has considerable market access and a profound understanding of the medical device logistical distribution system in China, from regulatory framework right through to delivery. This is a major step forward in achieving Unitract’s global ambitions.”
About Unitract
Unitract is an Australian healthcare company dedicated to the delivery of medical solutions which enhance the quality of human life. Unitract is focused on the design, manufacture and distribution of a unique range of syringe products incorporating automatic needle retraction and re-use prevention (single use) features to address the injection safety requirements of global markets. Unitract was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2002 and was presented the prestigious Prize of the State of Geneva Award in recognition of the commercial potential and overall benefit to humanity for the Unitract 1mL Safe Syringe in 2004. Supported by a team with extensive experience and expertise in the healthcare, the essence of our business strategy is to create and sustain value for our shareholders, consumers, and the community. Unitract website: http://www.unitract.com/
About KDL
KDL is one of the largest medical device and syringe manufacturers and distributors in China, with over 15 subsidiaries, 15000 m2 of clean room space, employing 3,000 people. KDL has established sales networks in 53 countries and exports products valued at 20 million USD. KDL has received Shanghai’s recognition as a “High Tech Company” and its needles and syringes received the honor as a “Shanghai Quality brand” product. KDL produces over 200 products including infusion sets, transfusion sets, catheters, needles, bags and syringes. The company operates at the premium end of the medical device market and works with a number of leading US and Japanese healthcare brands. KDL is one of the top three syringe manufacturers in China currently supplying more than 400 million syringes and 3 billion needles to the global market each year.
About the Chinese Syringe Market and Unsafe Injection Practices
On October 22, 2004 Chinese premier Wen Jiabao announced that fighting AIDS was his country’s top priority. The ‘China Alliance for Safe Injection’ (CASI) was formed this year by the Chinese Ministry of Health to promote safe injection practices.
China is conservatively estimated to have 800,000 HIV carriers and 120 million HBV carriers, 10 per cent of the population. The Chinese Ministry of Health has stated approximately 390,000 Chinese have died prematurely from unsafe injections. The direct medical spending on unsafe injection consequences has reached US$142 million.
As many as 50 per cent of all injections in China are unsafe, exposing both patients and medical staff at danger, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The World Health Organisation estimates in western rural areas of China more than 70 per cent of disposable syringes for single use are reused.
Unitract
CONTACT: Media Contacts: US - Stuart Fine of Carpe DM, Inc.,+1-908-490-0075, stuart@carpedminc.com; or Australia - Louise Nealon, PPR,+61-2-9818-0935, or +61-403-569-177, lnealon@ppr.com.au, both for forUnitract
Web site: http://www.unitract.com/
