Todos strikes branding and distribution deal with Melbourne Biotech for RT-PCR machines in US

Todos Medical Ltd (OTCQB:TOMDF) revealed on Wednesday that it has struck an exclusive branding and distribution agreement with Australia-based Melbourne Biotech, a FDA-registered manufacturer, to supply high complexity CLIA labs in the US with fast, accurate Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machines. The Melbourne RT-PCR machines come with four, five or six channels to be able to identify multiple genes in the same well, said the company. Todos said it aims to focus the initial deployment of these RT-PCR machines towards its ongoing mobile CLIA lab project that it expects will reach the commercialization stage early in the fourth quarter of 2020. READ: Todos Medical enters into COVID-19 PCR testing and equipment financing partnership with AID Genomics for US market “Securing exclusive branding and distribution rights to a high quality RT-PCR machine such as Melbourne for the US market has been a top priority given that we have seen extensive delays in US delivery of other RT-PCR machines since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Todos Medical CEO Gerald E Commissiong said in a statement. “We will now be able to source between 100 and 200 Todos branded RT-PCR machines from Melbourne Biotech monthly, which will allow us to scale our ongoing mobile high-complexity CLIA lab collaboration to manufacture up to 100 mobile labs per month. This will facilitate the running of high-throughput PCR testing, around which we will be deploying rapid antigen and rapid antibody testing.” The Todos Medical boss noted that as decision makers begin to realize the “importance” of an “integrated screening and diagnostic confirmation approach” to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, Todos is well positioned to provide the solutions necessary to allow communities to open safely and stay open. “We believe mobiles will further add communities’ abilities to create the ‘bubbles’ needed to keep people safe, whether it’s on a college campus, on a military base, or whether it is for a sporting event,” added Commissiong. Meanwhile, Shah Awang, Medical Director of Melbourne Biotech, said that when the company was looking for the "appropriate partner" in the US, they sought a company that had a clear vision and approach to addressing the upcoming requirements of COVID testing for the local population. “We believe the Todos strategy of providing mobile laboratory testing and direct sales of equipment and tests to laboratories is in direct alignment of our goals to assist the population to combat this pandemic,” added Dr Awang.  Headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Todos develops diagnostic solutions to screen for a variety of cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. The company is also active in the COVID-19 PCR testing space.  Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive