Rockeby Biomed ships first batch of Avian Flu Test kits

Rockeby Biomed has announced that the first batch of its Avian Flu Test kits was sold early this month and shipped to Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Romania, Austria, South Africa, Netherlands and UK. The second shipment will be distributed before Christmas.

Rockeby has also signed an exclusive distribution deal with Cell Sciences Pte Ltd of Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cygenics, for both the Avian and Human Flu Tests. Cell Sciences will distribute the tests in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Cell Sciences has already taken two orders of the kits.

Evaluation of the Avian Flu test has commenced in Canada and Hong Kong. A 300 specimen clinical evaluation trial of the veterinary Avian Flu tests has commenced in Hong Kong. The trial is being conducted jointly by the Murdoch University’s School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences together with representatives from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore and the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department, Hong Kong SAR Government. The trial will produce a comparative evaluation of the sensitivity of the Avian Influenza Virus antigen detection tests on H5N1 infected swabs from various bird species including chickens, various other land based poultry, ducks and geese and various wild birds. This trial is being funded by the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre. Results are expected in Q1 2006.

A second clinical trial is underway at the Canadian National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Classical Swine Fever and Avian Disease Section. The objective of this trial is to assess the sensitivity and specificity of Rockeby’s Avian Flu Test in relation to other diagnostic methods currently available. Rockeby’s test will be compared with real-time PCR and the Directagen Flu test among others against quantified virus stocks. Results are expected in Q1 2006. A positive trial result may lead the way towards the Canadian Government adopting Rockeby’s avian flu test as part of the avian flu screening program.

"We are delighted at the pace at which we have been able to move the commercialisation process forward. Our distribution network now covers all the key areas of Asia Pacific and we look forward to extending this network to Africa, Middle East and Europe next year. ” said Dr Sze-Wee Tan, Chief Executive of Rockeby.

“Rockeby's avian flu test kits clearly meet an increasing need for a quick, reliable means of screening for infection. Governments around the world are working to minimize the potential for bird flu infections within their flocks and its spread to humans and our kits can assist them to achieve this goal."

Discussions regarding distribution of the Avian Flu tests are ongoing with a Japanese manufacturer of veterinary products. The company in question has recently applied for the registration of its recombinant vaccine against H5N1 avian flu in Indonesia. It is expected that the vaccine will be approved by in early 2006. Rockeby is negotiating the rights to distribute this vaccine in the Middle East.