Mauna Kea Technologies Reports First Sale of Cellvizio® in China to Renowned Chinese Optical Biopsy Pioneer

PARIS--(Marketwired - April 10, 2013) - Mauna Kea Technologies (NYSE Euronext: MKEA), leader in the optical biopsy market and developer of Cellvizio®, the fastest way to see cancer, announced today that the first Cellvizio system was sold in China, one of the fastest growing, largest medical device markets in the world. Yan-Qing Li, MD, Professor of Gastroenterology at Shandong University, Qilu Hospital, a pioneer in the optical biopsy field in China and a prolific researcher on applications of endomicroscopy, will be a key resource for the education efforts in China.

Prof. Yan-Qing Li has authored over 21 publications on optical biopsies and recently published the results of a 2,000-patient study, concluding that optical biopsies can successfully be used to identify gastric cancer lesions with high accuracy and reliability.

“Real-time optical biopsies offer an enormous opportunity to gather information on cancerous tissue inside the body, helping speed and inform treatment decisions,” said Yan-Qing Li. “We are very pleased to be the first Cellvizio reference center in China and look forward to improving the care of Chinese patients with this innovative technology.”

Prof. Yan-Qing Li acquired the Cellvizio system to continue to treat his patients with optical biopsies and to further his research on the use of optical biopsies within the digestive tract to help diagnose gastric, colon, and esophageal cancer in real-time.

Stomach cancer is the second most prevalent kind of cancer in Asia and the leading cause of cancer in men in the region, according to the World Health Organization. An estimated 736,000 people die from stomach cancer each year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide.(i)

“China is the world’s fastest-growing healthcare market and one of the largest markets for gastrointestinal optical biopsies. The establishment of the first Cellvizio reference center in China represents a significant milestone for the company,” said Sacha Loiseau, PhD, founder and CEO of Mauna Kea Technologies. “Prof. Yan-Qing Li is a true visionary and has acquired phenomenal skills with endomicroscopy. We are thrilled to have him on board, leading the optical biopsy initiative in China where some GI diseases are particularly prevalent. We look forward to establishing a key center of excellence at Qilu Hospital in order to train and educate a great number of digestive disease specialists throughout Asia, where we already have 38 Cellvizio systems installed.”

During 2012 to 2017, the Chinese medical device market is estimated to grow at a rate of approximately 20.2% per year(ii). The latest annual data up to December 2011 show that imports of medical devices have grown very strongly during the period, rising by 26.6% to reach more than EUR 6,5 billion.

About Mauna Kea Technologies
Mauna Kea Technologies is a global medical device company dedicated to the advent of optical biopsy. The company researches, develops and markets innovative tools to visualize and detect cellular abnormalities during endoscopic procedures. Its flagship product, Cellvizio®, a probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE) system, provides physicians and researchers high-resolution cellular views of tissue inside the body. Large, international, multicenter clinical trials have demonstrated Cellvizio’s ability to help physicians more accurately detect early forms of disease and make treatment decisions immediately. Designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs within a hospital, Cellvizio can be used with almost any endoscope. Cellvizio has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European CE-Mark for use in the GI tract, biliary and pancreatic ducts and lungs.

For more information on Mauna Kea Technologies, visit www.maunakeatech.com

Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe to, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to, shares in Mauna Kea Technologies (“the Company”) in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company’s objectives. Such forward-looking statements are based solely on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management and involve risk and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, whether the Company will be successful in implementing its strategies, whether there will be continued growth in the relevant market and demand for the Company’s products, new products or technological developments introduced by competitors, and risks associated with managing growth. Unfavorable developments in connection with these and other risks and uncertainties described, in particular, in the Company’s prospectus prepared in connection with its IPO and on which the French Autorité des marches financiers (“AMF”) granted its visa number 11-236 on June 20, 2011, could cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the forward-looking statements above.

(i) GLOBOCAN 2008 (IARC) Section of Cancer Information (22/1/2013)

(ii) The Medical Device Market:China. (2012) Espicom Medical Market Research Reports. Dec 6, 2012. http://www.espicom.com/china-medical-device-market