Toronto, OntarioFebruary 27, 2018SQI Diagnostics Inc. (“SQI” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: SQD; OTCQB: SQIDF),
a life sciences and diagnostics company that develops and commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray diagnostics (“SQI”), and Predictive Health Diagnostics Co., (“PHD”) an Irvine, CA-based pioneer in the field of predictive diagnostic medicine, today announced the validation, commercial transition, and successful installation of SQI’s automated sqidlite™ system to run PHD’s multi-biomarker cardiac event prediction assay in PHD’s CLIA laboratory in Irvine, CA, where PHD is already servicing thousands of patients annually.
SQI has transformed 7 of PHD’s 9 biomarkers for the PULS™ Cardiac Test (the “PULS Test”) into an SQI-based multiplex test with kits being manufactured at SQI’s state-of-the-art facility in Toronto. The sqidlite system and test kits will also be available to PHD’s global customer base for purchase to run the PULS Cardiac test in their own laboratories. These PHD customers are some of the world’s most recognized cardiologists, hospitals, and reference laboratories around the world such as the world-renowned Cleveland HeartLab (Cleveland, OH), LifeLabs (Toronto, ON) and many others.
The PULS Cardiac Test marks a major advancement in medicine’s ability to predict the chances of a heart attack before it happens and enable prevention. It is the first test of its kind to integrate quantification of the body’s immune system response to endothelial damage to identify subclinical residual cardiac risk and predict a 5-year risk of heart attack. The test was published in summary form in the November 2014 edition of the Journal of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
“We’re excited to be the technology platform upon which PHD’s Cardiac PULS test is now based,” said Andrew Morris, CEO of SQI Diagnostics. “We believe the Predictive Health Diagnostics PULS Cardiac test will transform the way cardiovascular testing and cardiac event prediction is performed. Clearly, the commercial potential for PULS is very promising as is illustrated by the esteemed and growing list of customer clinics using this important predictive diagnostic tool. The potential market for this test is everyone over the age of 40 and as young as 35 for people that have known risk factors such as family history. Predictive Health Diagnostics estimates that the market for the PULS test could exceed 100 million tests per year.”
Dr. Douglas Harrington, CEO of PHD said, “SQI is the perfect partner for PHD and the PULS assay. We needed a partner that takes test quality and patient health as seriously as we do. We need proven expertise in developing and gaining FDA-clearance of multiplexed tests. SQI also has ISO and cGMP-quality standards in its product development and manufacturing. Finally, we need our partner to have scaled a range of automated systems with different capacities including a sophisticated automated system to run these tests, reduce our labor costs and simplify workflows. SQI clearly has all of these attributes, and we look forward to growing both of our businesses through this commercial partnership.”
About SQI Diagnostics
SQI Diagnostics is the life sciences and diagnostics company that develops and commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray diagnostics. The Company’s proprietary microarray tests and fully-automated systems are designed to simplify protein and antibody testing workflow, increase throughput, reduce costs and provide excellent data quality. For more information, please visit www.sqidiagnostics.com.
About Predictive Health Diagnostics
Predictive Health Diagnostics is a pioneer in the field of diagnostic medicine. We work on the cutting edge of medical research, turn discoveries into innovative products and bring those products to the global marketplace. We work with advanced research teams to develop, manufacture, and distribute innovative technology platforms to address the needs of the global disease burden. Our CLIA-certified and GMP laboratory performs a menu of clinically effective tests targeting key health issues. Our goal is to equip physicians with the tools they need to transform health care – one patient at a time. For more information on the PULS Cardiac Test, please visit www.PULStest.com
Sales and Marketing Contact:
Vice President, Global Commercial Operations
Russ Peloquin
913.484.9022
rpeloquin@sqidiagnostics.com
SQI Investor Relations Contact:
Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Morris
416.674.9500 ext. 229
amorris@sqidiagnostics.com
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Patricia Lie
416.674.9500 ext. 277
plie@sqidiagnostics.com
Predictive Health Sciences Co. Contact:
Chief Executive Officer
Douglas Harrington, MD
866.299.8998
dharrington@phdiagnostics.net
Forward-looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “will”, “expects”, “intends” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to risks related to the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, general economic and market segment conditions, and international risk and currency exchange, agreements and future agreements to sell our products, the success of our Diagnostic Tools and Services business and our intent to build near-term revenue streams from this business, the successful regulatory filing and receipt of regulatory approvals for our later stage quantitative diagnostic kits, the acceleration of our revenue ramp, general economic and market segment conditions, competitor activity, technology changes and regulatory approvals. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
