New Zealand diagnostics company to hire 100 in PA

New Zealand's Pacific Edge Diagnostics is taking its diagnostic expertise abroad, opening its first U.S. franchise in Hershey, PA. The move, which comes as the company looks to market its bladder cancer detection test to urologists in the U.S. by the end of the year, is poised to bring roughly 100 new jobs to the area over the next three years.

The product that will be the focus of the Hershey franchise is Cxbladder, a non-invasive, urine-based test for the detection of bladder cancer. It is available in New Zealand, Australia, Spain and Portugal. Pacific Edge cited the tenacity of the Hershey Center for Applied Research--as well as financial incentives--as reasons for choosing the mid-Pennsylvania location.

"It's a huge opportunity to be in the US market," explained CEO David Darling, as quoted by The National Business Review. "It's probably the biggest prize in the world when it comes to a responsive healthcare market that really understands what molecular diagnostics can do in a clinical setting."

The Hershey-based division will be the second-largest employer at the research center, PennLive.com notes. An area economic expert viewed the news as a positive sign for the rising life sciences industry in mid-Pennsylvania.

- check out the Pacific Edge release
- see the NBR story
- get more from PennLive.com