HANGZHOU, China and HONG KONG, May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New Horizon Health (6606.HK) and Prenetics Group Limited (Nasdaq: PRE, "Prenetics") has announced a strategic partnership to launch ColoClear by Circle (ColoClear), the "First Colorectal Cancer Screening Test approved in China", in Hong Kong, and for its first overseas venture in Southeast Asia. Mr. YeQing Zhu, CEO of New Horizon Health, and Mr. Danny Yeung, CEO and Co-Founder of Prenetics, have conducted joint press conference with nearly 60 mainstream media from Mainland China and Hong Kong.
New Horizon Health and Prenetics will jointly promote ColoClear in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with additional options to expand the partnership into Southeast Asian markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Prenetics will have the exclusive rights to provide ColoClear laboratory testing service and the profits from the sales of ColoClear will be shared between New Horizon Health and Prenetics. On June 8, ColoClear will be officially launched in Hong Kong.
Prenetics is a global leader in genetics and diagnostic testing, and has successfully listed on Nasdaq in the US on May 18 via a merger with Artisan Acquisition Corp., becoming Hong Kong's first unicorn to list on the Nasdaq with the ticker "PRE". The company's pillar product pipeline covers prevention, diagnostics and personalized healthcare services, with ColoClear being the key product in disease prevention.
"New Horizon Health and Prenetics share the same vision in healthcare. Prevention and early detection, home-based healthcare, and individualized service have become the major trends in the war on cancer around the globe. We have confidence that with our joint efforts, ColoClear will become a benchmark for Asian innovation, raising awareness in cancer screening while saving many lives," said Mr. YeQing Zhu, CEO of New Horizon Health, "Cancer screening test has to pass a very high bar in order to be approved by regulatory authorities such as FDA and National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). As the only NMPA-approved cancer screening test to-date, ColoClear has enjoyed triple digit growth in 2021, the first year of its commercial launch in China. We are confident in its ability to identify colorectal cancer and precancerous lesion at early stage when it is still curable, and we look forward to working with Prenetics to benefit the broader Asian community."
Mr. Danny Yeung, CEO and Co-Founder of Prenetics also stated, "Cancer screening is an important part of Prenetics's product pipeline and believe ColoClear is a game-changer for the market. Our goal is to decentralize healthcare and bring health closer to millions of patients around the world. ColoClear has a first-mover advantage in Asia's cancer screening market, and judging from the success of Exact Sciences success with Cologuard in the USA, we look forward to deliver rapid growth of ColoClear in the future with New Horizon Health."
Colorectal cancer screening has a huge potential of growth in the Asian market. According to the Frost & Sullivan Research Report, the colorectal cancer high-risk population in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries has reached USD 128 million in 2019. 94.3% of them have never conducted a screening test [1]. The Hong Kong's market in colorectal cancer screening is predicted to grow from USD 1.3 million in 2020 to USD 290 million in 2030, with a ten-year CAGR of 71.7%. On the other hand, the same market in Southeast Asia is predicted to grow from USD 33.4 million in 2020 to USD 2.79 billion in 2030, with ten-year CAGR of 55.7%. [2]
Taking the Hong Kong's market as an example, according to the Hong Kong Cancer Registry of the Hospital Authority, colorectal cancer has been ranked as the top two high-incidence cancers in Hong Kong since 2012, while being the second most common cause of cancer death. About one in every 6 to 7 new cancer patients suffers from colorectal cancer. In September 2016, the Department of Health of the Hong Kong SAR Government has launched the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, subsidizing in phases eligible Hong Kong residents aged 50 to 75 to undergo screening tests for the prevention of colorectal cancer. The program is expected to benefit 300,000 individuals. Currently, FIT and colonoscopy are the most common methods for colorectal cancer detection in the Hong Kong. The average cost of a colonoscopy ranges from HKD 7,800 to HKD 10,420.
As the only cancer screening molecular test approved by the NMPA[3], ColoClear was independently developed by New Horizon Health with USD 100 million investment and over the course of 7 years, including 16 months spent in conducting China's first prospective large-scale multicenter registration trial in cancer screening. The clinical trial data shows that ColoClear has a 95.5% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 63.5% for advanced adenoma, which is more than twice as high as the traditional FIT, proving it to be highly effective in detecting precancerous lesions. Its NPV (Negative Predictive Value) for colorectal cancer is 99.6%, minimizing the possibility of false negative [4]. ColoClear's patented FIT-DNA technology is also the only one included in all national guidelines for colorectal cancer screening and treatment published in China so far [5-7]. As of December 31, 2021, ColoClear has been admitted and sold in over 400 hospitals within a year of receiving approval from the NMPA, and has established in-depth strategic cooperation with cross-border leading platforms including e-commerce companies, insurance companies and private medical check-up centers. New Horizon Health holds the global rights of ColoClear.
In March 2021, New Horizon Health launched its Operation Centre in the Greater Bay Area in Nansha, Guangzhou. With a total area of 1,300 square meters, the Operation Centre is equipped with automatized sample processing and an advanced information system, with an annual capacity of 500,000 cancer screening tests.
[1] Prenetics Investor Presentation (2022.01.19) [EB/OL]. |
[2] Frost & Sullivan Research Report [EB/OL]. The colonoscope market is not included in this market scale data. |
[3] Center for Medical Device Evaluation of NMPA. Current status and clinical technical requirements of colorectal cancer screening products marketed in China and oversea [EB/OL]. |
[4] Center for Medical Device Evaluation of NMPA. Combination Detection Kit for KRAS Gene Mutation and BMP3/NDRG4 Gene Methylation and FOBT (PCR fluorescent probe method – colloidal gold method) Innovation Device Review Report (CSZ2000050) [EB/OL]. |
[5] "Colorectal cancer screening in China and guidelines for early diagnosis and treatment (2020, Beijing)", Chinese Journal of Oncology, January 2021, Vol. 43 (1) [DB/OL]. |
[6] Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, "The 2021 CSCO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer", People's Medical Publishing House Co., LTD, April 2021 [M/CD]. |
[7] Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, "Guidelines for holistic integrative management of cancer in China (CACA)", May 2022 [EB/OL]. |
About New Horizon Health
Founded in 2015, New Horizon Health is the pioneer and market leader in China's cancer screening market focusing on early detection of high-incidence cancers. On February 18, 2021, New Horizon Health was successfully listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong under the stock code of 6606.HK, becoming the "first cancer screening stock in China".
New Horizon Health's two colorectal cancer screening products, ColoClear® and Pupu Tube®, as well as a H.pylori screening product UU Tube®, have been approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). ColoClear® is currently the only cancer screening product approved by the NMPA. UU Tube® is currently the only self-conducted H.pylori screening product for home-use screening test approved in China. In addition, the company has three additional pipeline products for liver, cervical and nasopharyngeal cancer screening. The company holds global rights in all its marketed and pipeline products.
About Prenetics
Founded in 2014, Prenetics (Nasdaq: PRE) is a major global diagnostics and genetic testing company with the mission to bring health closer to millions of people globally and decentralize healthcare by making the three pillars — Prevention, Diagnostics and Personalized Care — comprehensive and accessible to anyone, at anytime and anywhere. Prenetics is led by visionary entrepreneur, Danny Yeung, with operations across 9 locations, including United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, and Southeast Asia. Prenetics develops consumer genetic testing and early colorectal cancer screening; provides COVID-19 testing, rapid point of care and at-home diagnostic testing and medical genetic testing.
