DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC QB: CONX OB), a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, today announced a three-year extension of the Joint Product Development Agreement with the ELITech Group, a Paris, France-based, privately held group of companies and worldwide manufacturer and distributor of in-vitro diagnostic equipment and reagents. The amended agreement extends the collaboration until July 2014 with options for further extension, expands the Executive Committee that oversees the collaborative program, and establishes guidelines for new product manufacturing and distribution.
“This agreement with ELITech funds the establishment of a new R&D capability at Corgenix and will result in the development of several new products that will have a major impact on our business going forward,” said Douglass Simpson, Corgenix President and Chief Executive Officer. “Corgenix will develop and manufacture new immunoassay products for ELITech and will have the option to take derivatives of the products to market in North America. In the first year of our collaboration we made excellent progress and will be launching several new diagnostic products in the next few months. We have significantly strengthened our development team, and with the amended agreement in place we will be accelerating the program, resulting in a material revenue contribution to our company in the years ahead.”
Corgenix is in the final stages of implementing additional manufacturing and support lines and processes key to the production of many of the new products to be developed with ELITech. William Critchfield, Corgenix Senior Vice President Operations and Finance and Chief Financial Officer, commented, “We are completing the restructure of our operations group and expanding our manufacturing capability. This will allow us to add several additional platform technologies, which we expect will open new market opportunities for the company.”
The company also announced that the third tranche investment called for under the July 2010 ELITech/Wescor Common Stock Purchase Agreement will be consummated by September 30, 2011. This investment was tied to the successful completion of not less than two (2) new Corgenix assays as further described in the July 2010 Joint Product Development Agreement. With the satisfaction of those conditions, Wescor will invest an additional five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) to purchase 3,333,333 shares of the company's common stock valued at $0.15 per share, and for no additional consideration the company will be issued a warrant to Wescor to purchase 1,666,667 shares at $0.15 per share.
About Corgenix Medical Corporation
Corgenix is a leader in the development and manufacturing of specialized diagnostic kits for immunology disorders, vascular diseases and bone and joint disorders, including the world’s only non-blood-based test for aspirin effect. Corgenix diagnostic products are commercialized for use in clinical laboratories throughout the world. The company currently sells over 50 diagnostic products through a global distribution network and has significant experience advancing products through the FDA process. More information is available at www.corgenix.com.
About the ELITech Group
The ELITech Group (ELITech) is a major player in the international medical market. ELITech has brought together IVD specialty companies to provide the best offering of innovative, unique and also routine products to laboratories operating closer to the patient. It comprises Vital Scientific and Seppim (clinical chemistry analyzers and reagents); ELITech Microbio (microbiology kits); Wescor (unique laboratory instruments); inoDiag (unique multiplex serology devices); Nanogen (leading edge technology molecular biology kits); and SERFIB (microbiology and immunology kits). Through direct sales in Europe and North America and distribution capabilities in over 100 countries, the ELITech Group offers clinical chemistry, microbiology, immunology and molecular biology products from its own facilities as well as complementary third-party products. More information is available at www.elitechgroup.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical facts are “forward-looking” statements (identified by the words “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “expect” or similar expressions) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company’s products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks detailed in the Company’s periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.