Singapore, Feb 25, 2009: HealthLinx, an Australian medical diagnostics company has agreed to commercial terms sheets for its OvPlex early stage ovarian cancer diagnostic, to be registered and sold in Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries for the next ten years.

The Singapore-based distributor, Inex develops and distributes medical devices and diagnostics for women’s health. HealthLinx will now pursue the execution of a formal distribution agreement with Inex pursuant to the commercial terms agreed upon.

Inex is a specialist women’s health and disease diagnostics company with a strong focus on latest technologies.

“Ovarian Cancer is now the most common gynaecological malignancy in Singapore and a rapidly growing problem throughout Asia. It is the most lethal of all gynaecological malignancies and the possibility of cure for late stage is low. Early detection of ovarian cancer is paramount to better the survival of affected women, usually in the prime of their lives,” said Prof Mahesh Choolani, Chairman, Inex.

According to Mr Choolani, prior to OvPlex there was no effective detection method for early ovarian cancer. OvPlex represents an opportunity to identify more women in early stage disease and therefore improve their long-term survival. The diagnostic efficiency of OvPlex for early stage ovarian cancer is 92.9 per cent.

Under the agreement Inex is granted exclusive rights for ten years to use, market, sell and distribute OvPlex in Singapore and other Asian countries including India with an option for a further ten years.

According to the company, ovarian cancer develops without overt symptoms and usually by the time it has been diagnosed the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries and into the abdomen, bladder, bowel and omentum. Because there is no community-based screening test for ovarian cancer, over 75 percent of cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages and over 80 per cent of these women will die within five years. If ovarian cancer is detected at an early stage and effectively treated, survival rate is more than 80 percent.

“The Asian market is an attractive opportunity for OvPlex with its burgeoning middle class economy and increasing demand for better medical products. After being approached by Inex we assessed the opportunity and concluded that this would be a magnificent platform to launch into the Asian market,” says Mr Nick Gatsios, Managing Director, HealthLinx.