RICHMOND, British Columbia, Oct. 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioCurex Inc. (OTCBB:BOCX) -- today announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive distribution agreement with VetRed B.V. from Naarden, the Netherlands. VetRed, a private company under Dutch law, will represent BioCurex's wholly owned subsidiary OncoPet Diagnostics to distribute the OncoPet RECAF™ cancer test for dogs in Europe.
Through a network of its own companies, agents and distributors, VetRed will ensure that OncoPet's RECAF™ test will reach the European Union member states. Samples will be collected and grouped prior to their dispatch to BioCurex's laboratories in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Europe is second in the world for its number of cats and dogs, according to a recent survey—there are approximately 78 million dogs and 94 million cats in Europe. The United States and Canada have the largest dog and cat population, with an estimated 52 million dogs and 66 million cats. Worth comfortably in excess of €4 billion, sales of animal health products in the European Union's 27 member countries are responsible for well over a quarter of global market value.
"VetRed B.V. is a very important marketing partner for BioCurex as it covers the broad territory of the European Union with an established distribution and marketing team," said OncoPet Diagnostics President Dr. Ricardo Moro-Vidal.
VetRed made an entrance in the veterinary diagnostic market in 2009 with the introduction of the Pandora® Slide Stainer, a tabletop fully automated unit, which stains in a fully reproducible way every sample prior to its evaluation under the microscope. VetRed also markets chromogenic media for rapid determination of fungi and bacteria. VetRed is run by industry veteran Floris de Haan, DVM, CEO of VetRed B.V. De Haan has more than 25 years of experience, amongst which he served for several years as a Country and Exports Manager with IDEXX Laboratories, one of the largest diagnostics companies in animal health today with annual sales over $1 billion.
"We are very excited about becoming BioCurex's liaison in Europe," said de Haan. "Cancer in companion animals is at the top of the mind for more and more veterinarians, who are searching for ways to mimic human cancer treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Cancer in companion animals is as omnipresent in animals as it is in humans and is the most prevalent disease with conservative estimations showing that 30 percent of the companion animals will develop some sort of cancer during their lifetime. Since diagnostic proof of cancer in animals remains oftentimes incomplete at this stage in veterinary medicine, a diagnostic assay, such as the OncoPet RECAF™ cancer test for dogs, which tells you that a cancer is present, will be very welcome in the veterinary industry."
About BioCurex, Inc.
BioCurex, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing products based on patented and proprietary technology in the area of cancer diagnostics. The technology identifies a universal cancer marker known as RECAF.
RECAF is a molecule that is present on cancer cells but not detected in significant levels on healthy cells or benign tumor cells. It is the receptor for alpha-fetoprotein and is classified as an oncofetal antigen due to its presence on both fetal and malignant tissues. This characteristic makes RECAF a more accurate indicator of cancer than most current tumor markers.
BioCurex is commercializing its technology through licensing arrangements with companies that develop and market diagnostic tests for the large automated clinical laboratory setting, through development and marketing of non-automated clinical laboratory tests, through development of rapid, point-of-care test formats, and through marketing of its OncoPet RECAF test for cancer in companion animals.
BioCurex has signed licensing agreements for its cancer detection blood tests with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and with Alere (NYSE:ALR).
For further information on these agreements visit: http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1092562/000100487808000117/sb2amnd4s1april08.txt.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.BioCurex.com.
For more information about OncoPet Diagnostics Inc., please visit: www.OncoPetDiagnostics.com.
For more information on VetRed B.V. please visit: www.vetred.net
Forward-Looking Statements
The Company has not authorized the release of this information in any form that contravenes the Communication Act and will not be responsible for unsolicited massive distribution of this material by e-mail or facsimile by unauthorized parties. Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements'' within the meaning given to that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.