Saladax Biomedical and HLS Therapeutics Strengthen Partnership With an Exclusive Distribution Agreement for Canada

Saladax Biomedical, Inc (Saladax) is pleased to announce an exclusive distribution agreement with HLS Therapeutics Inc. (“HLS”) (TSX:HLS) to distribute five MyCare™ Psychiatry Laboratory Assays used to measure the six most commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs in Canada.

The MyCare Psychiatry Laboratory Assays are essential diagnostic tools to monitor a patient’s antipsychotic drug blood level. Unfortunately, these medications can have adverse effects if the drug level is too high. Conversely, if the drug level is too low, the patient’s condition may not be treated effectively.

Current drug level methods are not rapid enough, which diminishes their clinical utility. Providing practitioners with convenient, rapid antipsychotic drug tests will increase patient access to this important testing and assist practitioners in managing their patients’ therapy. Traditionally, these tests were only available and performed by centralized reference laboratories using sophisticated instruments. As a consequence, by the time Healthcare Providers receive the results, the test’s clinical utility is vastly diminished. The MyCare Laboratory Assays are run on existing automated analysers already present in most hospital laboratories, expanding access for patients and providing results rapid enough to be of clinical benefit.

Health Canada has recently approved the MyCare Psychiatry Laboratory Assays to provide blood drug concentration levels for clozapine, risperidone, paliperidone, aripiprazole, olanzapine, and quetiapine products.

“The ability of our assays to be commonly available, in a timely manner, means that clinicians for the first time will now have a convenient diagnostic tool to assist in the management and optimization of their patient’s therapy,” stated Salvatore Salamone, President and CEO, and Founder of Saladax. “By advancing our partnership with HLS, we are confident that Canadians will now have increased access to this critical testing that will assist practitioners in managing their patients’ therapy.”