MEDIWATCH: December 2011

I thought I'd highlighted this charity before but maybe not.

Welcome to PCaSO

PCaSO Prostate Cancer Network is a patient-led Support organisation with Branches covering Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex, whose aims are to improve the diagnosis, treatment, care and support to those affected by prostate cancer.

The services it offers are free for men, their families and anyone affected by prostate cancer.
PCaSO holds meetings in various centres in the South of England from Bournemouth to Eastbourne.

It produces newsletters, has free Information Books and a comprehensive Library.

The objectives of PCaSO are:

To relieve the distress of men with prostate cancer and people affected by prostate cancer.
To help, inform and support people who have concerns about prostate cancer.
To advance education and information about prostate cancer to men who have or are at risk of the disease, to their partners, families and friends, and to the public at large.
To help promote better services for prostate cancer patients and those at risk of the disease.

The link below opens their Newsletter for November 2011 which includes The Mediwatch PSA Bioscan System (PSAwatch) and it's use along with event news and other informative articles.

PCaSO Issue 37 - November 2011 Newsletter (pdf)

I've also added a link to the PCaSO charity website via the main section found within April 2009! and under GENERAL,UROLOGY and CHARITY WEBSITES and also the last repeat found in November under 'Useful Websites'.

UK - PSAwatch

• Working closely with Mediwatch’s distributor in France, AVF
Biomédical, Mediwatch has launched the PSAwatch system at the
French annual urology congress in Paris. A clinical trial is ongoing.

• Mediwatch has begun direct marketing of PSAwatch into Germany,
Korea, Hong Kong, Europe, Mexico & China.

• In Turkey Mediwatch will be providing tests for a major government
trial as soon as their funding is available.

• Mediwatch is investigating a potential new PSAwatch trial in Italy,
working with its distributor EBNeuro.

• In the UK, the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust (GFCT) has been using the PSAwatch system in conjunction with laboratory tests at events and clinics across the country in 2011. Over the past few years, the GFCT has raised over £275,000 and conducted over 20,000 free prostate cancer tests across the UK, leading to the early diagnosis of nearly 500 men to date. During this quarter the GFCT has been transitioning from the traditional method of shipping blood samples to a laboratory for testing to using PSAwatch as their standard testing method. This model is being rolled-out nationwide through local prostate charity groups and supported by the GFCT.
• Mediwatch met with two multinational pharmaceutical companies
in Mexico to discuss new trials in 2012 using the PSAwatch system,
following trials in 2010 & 2011.

• A large clinical trial is scheduled to begin at the Royal Hospital in
Melbourne in Australia in early 2012.

• In the UAE Mediwatch is investigating the use of PSAwatch in a
national PSA screening program - Mediwatch’s regional manager is
visiting 10 hospitals in 4 of the 7 Emirates to set up trials for 2012.

UK - Sales

• Mediwatch is introducing a new range of equipment for GI &
Neurology diagnostics (including EMG, EEG, and GI & pH studies),
working in conjunction with EBNeuro. The Mediwatch UK sales
representatives have been trained on these products in
November - December 2011.

• Mediwatch attended 5 exhibitions in the UK in 2011, including the
British Urology Association Society annual meeting in Liverpool.

• This year Mediwatch held two National Sales Meetings to review
operations in the UK, bring new representatives into the direct sales
team and introduce additional products to their portfolio, with very
positive results.

UK - R&D

• The UK product development team has been working on several major projects,including a new advanced ultrasound scanner for bladder volume measurements.

• The hardware and software for Mediwatch’s next-generation urodynamics & anorectal manometry system is being worked on in combination by both the UK and USA product development teams.

Asia & Middle East

• Mediwatch enjoyed a year on year sales increase of 50% across the region, largely due to significant sales growth in Japan, Australia, Korea and Malaysia.

• Dr Philip Stimpson & Anders Pedersen travelled to China to meet
with potential distributors and manufacturers in an effort to expand
Mediwatch’s product range. Training has started in mainland China
where Mediwatch has appointed Newaytec in Beijing to represent
Mediwatch’s complete range of products, which are presently going
through SFDA approvals. In anticipation of approvals they attended
the China Medical Equipment Fair exhibition in Shenzhen, the Chinese Urological Association Annual Meeting in Nanjing (showing all Mediwatch’s products on the Newaytec stand), and held a training workshop in Hong Kong where they have succeeded in appointing S&V Samford as our new distributor.

• Mediwatch joined its Japanese distributor, MC Medical to exhibit at the World Endourology Congress in Kyoto.

• Device Technologies, the Mediwatch distributor in Australia & New Zealand, is having a great year. They have managed to secure Clinic Sensic orders in New Zealand and won their first order for a Colorectal System from St Vincent’s Hospital in Australia.

• Mediwatch will be exhibiting at the Arab Health meeting in Dubai in
January 2012.

Europe

• France - AVF Biomédical had a strong year end sales performance across the range of products, in total increasing by 19% from 2010.

• Germany - Promedia year on year sales increased by 10%.

• Russia - Strong sales throughout 2011 by Infomed were double those from 2010, particularly for the urodynamics range.

• Mediwatch is negotiating with a large European company to buy and license new technology for gastro-intestinal diagnostic applications.

Global

• The Allergan trial using Mediwatch’s Urodyn+ flowmeters was
scheduled to end in 2011 but has been extended and is still
ongoing, with Mediwatch’s equipment being used in hospitals
around the world.

USA - Sales

• In the USA Mediwatch is now enrolled in the government bid
contracting system, allowing Mediwatch to more easily sell to the
large Veterans’ Association and military hospital network. Mediwatch
is also now contracted with several private sector group purchasing
organizations (GPOs), which gives Mediwatch the ability to market and sell to potential customers that are contracted with those GPOs.

• This year Mediwatch attended a total of 20 conferences in the USA.At the American Urology Association (AUA) national congress in Washington DC Mediwatch showed off its complete equipment range on a new exhibition stand. In May 2012 Mediwatch will be attending the AUA in Atlanta Georgia.

• Mediwatch is working with two large distribution companies to use their national sales teams to reach additional markets.

• Mobilewatch continues to expand under the leadership of Adam Silbersweig and Diane Durell, with new customers in Washington state and Florida. A dedicated web portal for Mobilewatch in the USA is being set up to market to customers.

USA - R&D

• Mediwatch’s product development team has several new products
in the pipeline, and is working on EMR (electronic medical records)
connectivity. All of Mediwatch’s past customers are potential targets
for this EMR connectivity upgrade. This ongoing development improves Mediwatch’s present EMR connectivity with additional features and smoother setup. EMR is an enhancement that the marketplace is demanding more and more frequently.

Latin America

• This quarter Mediwatch held discussions with potential new
distributors in Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Columbia and
Argentina (in October Mediwatch exhibited at the Argentinian national urology meeting in Buenos Aires).

• Mediwatch is working closely with its Mexican distributor, Endomedica, to extend its share of the PSA testing market. Mediwatch will be training end-users and Endomedica sales staff in Mexico City in December at a hospital that recently purchased two large capital systems.

• Mediwatch’s goal for 2012 is to have strong representation in North, Central and South America, in particular in the above countries.

Canada

• Mediwatch has been setting up a distribution network in Canada,
with representation in British Columbia, Ontario & the Maritimes,
and a regional sales manager based in the USA. Mediwatch are in
negotiations at present for representation in Quebec and other regions to complete sales coverage across the country.

Staff changes in the USA

• Brian Hersh BA, joined as the VP of US operations in August 2011. He has a diverse background in Corporate Finance, Sales & Marketing, Operations and Business Development. Most recently he has used his diverse experience and skill sets to help many companies in the role of Business Consultant and Growth Strategist. His experience in medical laboratory management, pharmaceutical, diagnostic testing, and internet based marketing all bring key skills to Mediwatch.

• Mike Bradley MBA, the newly appointed West Coast Sales Manager,
joins Casey Rosa and Jeff Dannenberg to fill a key gap in Mediwatch’s sales structure. He is working to bring Mediwatch comprehensive coverage over the Western region, in particular strengthening the Californian sales team.

• Adam Silbersweig joined the Mobilewatch management team and brings telesales and diagnostic testing experience to the Mobile team. The Florida office is experimenting with an external sales team,travelling out to visit clients and market the Mobilewatch service.

• Jorge Bracho M.D. has joined the Mediwatch clinical team. He combines clinical expertise for customer support with Latin American sales management.

• Graham Taylor-Jones MEng joins the product development team with a specialty in hardware. Alicia Gardner BA joins the product development team with an emphasis on software. Eddie Johnson has transferred from service to product development, he is focusing on the EMR connectivity project.

Staff changes in the UK

• Colm Croskery FCA B,Comm MBA has transferred to group CFO for
Mediwatch Plc. Colm has been with Mediwatch since July 2007,
initially joining as Operations Manager, becoming a director in
January 2008.

• Peter Griffiths MBA, is the new Mediwatch General Manager of
Operations in the UK. He has an impressive operations background
in high tech regulated sectors, including the media, electronics,
polymer science, Tier 1 aerospace manufacture and more recently
bio-compatible materials for medical device manufacturers. Peter
is working closely with the UK management team to improve the
manufacturing and production process along with improving the
timeline for new product development.

• Howard Brobin has been promoted to UK sales manager. He has
21 years of experience of selling urology and neuro-physiology
equipment, in particular urodynamics systems, into the UK market.