Atossa Genetics ($ATOS) just wrapped up its second big national distribution deal in the last few months. The agreement represents another piece in the Seattle, WA, company's plan to expand the reach of its ForeCYTE breast health test.
Atossa's's agreement calls for McKesson Medical-Surgical to sell and distribute the company's hand-held MASCT device and patient collection kits across the country. MASCT collects breast fluid non-invasively in an office procedure that takes about 10 minutes. Then Atossa's National Reference Laboratory for Breast Health uses ForeCYTE to analyze the results and determine a woman's breast cancer risk down the line.
In June, Thermo Fisher ($TMO) also agreed to distribute the MASCT device through its Fisher Healthcare segment under a similar arrangement. Fisher's network includes hospitals, large clinics and group purchasing organizations. McKesson Medical-Surgical has sales links to physician offices, plus hospitals and other vital target markets, and so both deals are complementary.
"McKesson Medical-Surgical is one of the country's top medical distributors and we are pleased that they have agreed to add the ForeCYTE test to their product portfolio," Steven Quay, Atossa's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement.
Atossa is targeting preventive breast cancer care, a treatment area that diagnostics companies are increasingly trying to address. ForeCYTE is designed to offer early detection of cancer, and pre-cancerous conditions that could progress to cancer over many years. It also can detect cancer before mammograms or other diagnostic methods. Early detection will improve odds for successful breast cancer treatment.
- read the release