Microbix Biosystems Inc (MBXBF)

[yielddude]

Microbix & Copan Italia Execute Strategic Agreement

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microbix-copan-italia-execute-strategic-120000385.html



For FLOQ Devices & QAPs Co-branding,
IP licensing, Co-marketing,
Purchase and Supply

MISSISSAUGA, CANADA and BRESCIA, ITALY, December 21, 2020 – Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQB: MBXBF, Microbix®), a life sciences innovator and exporter, and Copan Italia S.p.A. (Copan®), the global leader in specimen collection technologies, announce their execution of a strategic agreement (Agreement) in relation to Microbix’s quality assessment products (QAPs™) and Copan’s flocked devices (FLOQ®).

The Agreement between Microbix and Copan expands upon an existing purchase and supply contract, adding licensing of Copan’s issued patents for use of flocked devices to format test controls (broadly known as QAPs). Also, it formalizes the parties’ agreement for joint usage of their respective brands for marketing of novel and innovative QAPs – Combining Copan’s well-known FLOQ® brand with Microbix’s emerging PROCEEDx™ (RUO) and REDx™ (IVD) brands – to use PROCEEDx™FLOQ® and REDx™FLOQ® as worldwide branding for active co-marketing of leading-edge FLOQSwab-formatted QAPs by Microbix and Copan.

Twelve such FLOQ-based QAPs SKUs have already been created and introduced into one or more of Australia, Canada, the European Union, Scandinavia, the United States, or the United Kingdom. Of those, fully IVD-regulated REDxFLOQ controls are now available to support lab-based molecular-test workflows for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the cause of COVID-19 disease). Microbix also intends to license/register REDxFLOQ versions of its growing PROCEEDxFLOQ portfolio, including for workflow support of SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing, Flu A, Flu B, and RSV, then for other pathogen tests for which patient samples are collected on FLOQSwabs. To date, approximately 50,000 units of FLOQSwab-based QAPs have been sold.

Stefania Triva, CEO of Copan, commented, “We’ve been working with the Microbix team for some time now and the mutual trust that has been developed has led to an agreement that will broadly assist the diagnostics industry. Additionally and as a result of our collaboration with Microbix, Copan FLOQ devices are now becoming recognized as the best way of supporting lab quality management system objectives, as much as Copan FLOQSwab-based products are the preferred means of patient-sample collection.”

Cameron Groome, CEO & President of Microbix, remarked, “We’re honoured that Copan is entrusting us to represent the FLOQ brand through our innovative and proprietary QAPs. We believe the collaboration between our companies will improve lab testing accuracy in countries around the world – not just during the current pandemic, but for many decades to come. Also, we thank Stefania and the Copan technical, operational, business, and legal teams for their work on this agreement – it continues to be a pleasure.”