Public Healthcare Providers increase use of Cxbladder

6 April 2020

PUBLIC HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS INCREASE COMMERICAL USE OF CXBLADDER

• Counties Manukau Health and Waitematā DHB add second Cxbladder test to mainstream commercial use
• Use of Cxbladder by Counties Manukau and MidCentral DHBs for in-home testing for bladder cancer has
commenced for some patients.

Cancer diagnostics company, Pacific Edge Limited (NZX:PEB), advises that two of New Zealand’s largest public
healthcare providers – Counties Manukau Health and Waitematā District Health Board - are extending their
commercial use of Cxbladder. Together, these two District Health Boards cover a population of more than 1.1
million people (approximately 23% of New Zealand’s population). Pacific Edge expects this will result in an increase
in the number of tests performed by its New Zealand laboratory.

Pacific Edge also advises that two public healthcare providers in New Zealand (Counties Manukau Health and
MidCentral DHB) have started using Cxbladder for in-home testing for bladder cancer as a solution for their patients
during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Counties Manukau Health

Counties Manukau Health is one of New Zealand’s largest public healthcare providers serving a population of
approximately 570,000 people. It has been commercially using Cxbladder Triage since August 2018 to assess
patients with blood in their urine (a key indicator of bladder cancer) to determine if they need further evaluation.
Since adoption the use of Cxbladder Triage has resulted in over half of their patients avoiding a urology specialist
appointment or having to undergo an invasive and expensive cystoscopy procedure
1
.

Counties Manukau Health has now expanded its commercial use of Cxbladder to include Cxbladder Monitor.
Cxbladder Monitor was developed for those patients being monitored for the recurrence of bladder cancer. Bladder
cancer has a very high recurrence rate and people living with bladder cancer need to present up to four times per
year to be checked for recurrence of the disease with cystoscopy. As a result, bladder cancer carries the highest
per-lifetime, per-patient cost of any cancer, with more than 60% of the total cost attributable to surveillance and
recurrence.
Waitematā District Health Board
Pacific Edge has entered into an agreement with Health Source New Zealand Limited (the procurement services
company representing the Northern Region District Health Boards) to provide its suite of Cxbladder cancer
diagnostic tests for the detection, management and monitoring of bladder cancer patients to the Waitematā
District Health Board (WDHB). WDHB will now add the commercial use of Cxbladder Triage, to its existing use of
Cxbladder Monitor.
WDHB is New Zealand’s largest public healthcare provider serving a population of 630,000 people located on
Auckland’s North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney districts
2
. Under the new WDHB program, all patients with
haematuria will now first receive a Cxbladder Triage test which, when combined with the patient’s imaging results,

1
https://www.countiesmanukau.health.nz/news/bladder-cancer-pilot-producing-results/
2
https://www.waitematadhb.govt.nz/about-us/about-dhbs/

6 April 2020
will inform the urologist as to whether further testing and invasive procedures are required. Recent published
evidence showed that Cxbladder Triage successfully reduced the number of cystoscopies by more than 30%
3
. This
means that many patients can now be quickly and safely discharged back into the care of their GP in the community
and will not require a urology specialist appointment or have to undergo an invasive and expensive cystoscopy
procedure.
Dr Madhu Koya, Clinical Director of Urology at Waitematā DHB said: “Including Cxbladder into the pathway for
haematuria referrals is aimed at improving the quality of care for our patients and clients. For many patients, they
will get peace of mind from knowing they don’t have bladder cancer without having to go to a hospital clinic
appointment and have an invasive procedure. The added benefit is that the patients that we do see in clinic will be
seen sooner, since Cxbladder Triage has already ruled-out many of the referrals. This is all about what is best for
the patient.”
Public healthcare providers in New Zealand commence the use of Cxbladder for in-home sample collection
Counties Manukau Health and MidCentral DHB (who combined serve a population of approximately 805,000
people) are now dispatching the Cxbladder test sample systems to patients at home, for in-home collection of their
urine sample and return to the Pacific Edge laboratory by courier. Based on their Cxbladder results, many patients
can have a cystoscopy procedure deferred to a later date. This means that many urologist appointments and
procedures will be avoided at a time when public healthcare resources are being prioritised and people are being
asked to ‘stay at home’.
Dr Christophe Chemasle, Urology consultant at MidCentral DHB, said: “For bladder cancer, the majority of patients
are over 60 years of age, with a high proportion over 70 years, and at higher risk of COVID-19. Cxbladder makes a
difference by being able to collect the patient sample from their home. It means patients don’t have to travel to
the clinic, and it frees-up essential healthcare services.”
CEO of Pacific Edge, David Darling, said: “The clinical utility provided by the suite of Cxbladder tests is being
highlighted under the exceptional circumstances we are now living under during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Public healthcare providers are grappling with how to provide the best care for urology patients who are scheduled
to visit the clinic regularly as part of their ongoing management of bladder cancer. We are now seeing a variety of
essential healthcare activities being delivered in new ways, such as virtual clinics and telehealth. Cxbladder is
proving itself to be a unique solution in these situations as demonstrated by the commencement of in-home sample
collection by two public healthcare providers in New Zealand.”
ENDS

For more information contact:

David Darling, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Edge Ltd, P: +64 (3) 479 5800

OVERVIEW www.pacificedge.co.nz www.pacificedgedx.com
Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) is a New Zealand publicly listed, cancer diagnostic company specialising in the discovery and
commercialisation of diagnostic and prognostic tests for better detection and management of cancer. Its Cxbladder suite of
non-invasive, simple to use and accurate diagnostic tests provide actionable results, and better detection and management of

3
Davidson et al, Inclusion of a molecular marker of bladder cancer in a clinical pathway for investigation of haematuria may reduce the
need for cystoscopy, New Zealand Medical Journal; June 2019

6 April 2020
urothelial cancer. The company is developing and commercialising its range of Cxbladder bladder cancer tests globally through
its wholly owned central laboratories in New Zealand and the USA. The company’s products have been tested and validated in
international multi-centre clinical studies.

ABOUT Cxbladder Triage www.cxbladder.com
Cxbladder Triage combines the power of the genomic biomarkers with additional phenotypic and clinical risk factors to
accurately identify patients with haematuria who have a low probability of bladder cancer and may not require a more
extensive urological evaluation. Cxbladder Triage is a tool for use by clinicians and physicians in primary evaluation of patients
with haematuria and is intended to reduce the need for an expensive and invasive work-up in patients who have a low
probability of having urothelial carcinoma.

ABOUT Cxbladder Detect www.cxbladder.com
Cxbladder Detect enables the non-invasive detection of bladder and other urinary tract cancers from a small volume of a
patients’ urine. Cxbladder Detect provides clinicians with a quick, cost effective and accurate measure of the presence of the
cancer as an effective adjunct to cystoscopy.

ABOUT Cxbladder Monitor www.cxbladder.com
Cxbladder Monitor allows urologists to monitor bladder cancer patients for recurrence of the disease. Bladder cancer has a
recurrence rate of 50-80% and requires life-long surveillance. Cxbladder Monitor accurately identifies patients with a prior
history of urothelial cancer (UC) whose Cxbladder Monitor score shows that they have a low probability of recurrent urothelial
carcinoma. Cxbladder Monitor is designed to be used as the preferred adjunct test to cystoscopy in the management of patients
for ongoing evaluation of recurrent bladder cancer.

ABOUT Cxbladder Resolve www.cxbladder.com
Cxbladder Resolve identifies those patients who are likely to have aggressive or more advanced bladder cancer. Cxbladder
Resolve, when used as part of the primary evaluation of haematuria and/or in conjunction with other Cxbladder tests (Triage,
Detect), is designed to assist clinicians by accurately identifying patients with a high probability of having high grade or late
stage bladder cancer, for whom alternative or expedited treatment options may be warranted, or who can be prioritised for
further investigation in high throughput settings.

Refer to www.cxbladder.com for more information.