Polartechnics finds partners for Cerviscreen

Polartechnics, a health care firm specializing in developing, manufacturing and marketing devices for the detection of pre-cancer and cancer, is to partner with fellow Australian firms Genera Biosystems and Healthscope in the development and launch of cervical cancer test Cerviscreen.

Cerviscreen is Polartechnics' novel self-sampling device for human papillomavirus. Genera will be providing its PapType HPV detection and genotyping assay for use in the Cerviscreen system in Australia, Southeast Asia and Europe.

"We're very pleased that Polartechnics have selected PapType for use in their Cerviscreen system. Getting more women into the Pap smear program via an initial use of Cerviscreen is good medicine as well as good business. We see this as a great commercial opportunity, and [it] further proves the competitiveness of Genera's detection platform and products," said Fernando Careri, Genera's chairman "However, we'll also be looking to build upon our partnership with Polartechnics, to place these and other Genera tests onto the Cerviscreen test menu," he added.