The Turkish Ministry of Health is to order up to $3 million of devices and associated disposables providing early detection and prevention of cervical cancer from Norcross-based Guided Therapeutics Group, the company announced on July 2.
In addition, the ministry is to conduct clinical trials to assess the utility of Guided Therapeutics’ advanced cervical scan devices within a broad national program of cervical cancer control.
Guided Therapeutics’ products are distributed in Turkey by I.T.E.M. Medical Technologies Group. Meanwhile, Guided Therapeutics is waiting for approval of its LuViva Advanced Cervical Scan from the U.S Food and Drug Administration.
According to a news release, the terms of the program call for initial shipments to begin this quarter and last through the end of 2014.
The release also said that each year in Turkey about two million women undergo Pap test screening for cervical scanning with as many as 200,000 receiving an abnormal Pap result.
Guided Therapeutics’ products are to be used prior to colposcopies to identify women without disease and prevent them from receiving unnecessary biopsies.
“The selection of the LuViva Advanced Cervical Scan for inclusion in Turkey’s cervical cancer prevention program is an honor which speaks to the clinical advantages of our technology, including safety, diagnostic accuracy and economic efficiency,” said Mark L. Faupel, CEO and president of Guided Therapeutics Inc. “We look forward to working with I.T.E.M. and the ministry to improve health care of Turkish women.”
Mr. Faupel also said concerning the company’s relations with the FDA:
“While the U.S. market is important to us, we believe that the international market offers the greater opportunity for LuViva and a faster path to profitability. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, we have hired a Latin American specialist as part of our distributor management team, are working to be included in national healthcare plans, such as our recent announcement from Turkey, and continuing to add new distributors to our network.”
Zafer Yazici, CEO and president of I.T.E.M. Medical Technologies, said in the release, “We are pleased to be in a partnership with the Ministry of Health and Guided Therapeutics to bring LuViva into clinical practice for cervical cancer prevention.
“The program is consistent with our commitment to bring advanced medical technologies to this region of the world. We expect that LuViva’s innovative technology will establish Turkey as a leader in cancer control strategies, while raising the bar in women’s health care.”
Guided Therapeutics is a developer of biophotonic technology that uses light to detect disease at the cellular level. To learn more about the company, click here.