HONG KONG – Opportunities in Asia have prompted U.K. med-tech firm Diaceutics Ltd. to set up a hub in the region. By establishing a foothold in Singapore, the company aims to put other territories on its radar and expand its Asian presence.

With data collected from 2,500 labs worldwide, Diaceutics provides data-driven insights to help pharmaceutical companies understand the diagnostic market, build and implement plans and conduct diagnostic tracking. Its Singapore office is expected to help the launch of and access to precision therapies in the Chinese mainland, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.

The new regional office will also help Diaceutics reach out to more pharmaceutical companies and local manufacturers in Asia to collect patient data for better testing results and shorter turnaround times.

Damian Thornton, chief operating officer of Diaceutics, spoke to BioWorld MedTech about the opportunities Asia represents for the Belfast-based company.

"The need for [our service] in Asia is significant and growing. In 2018, about 10 percent of our business came from projects throughout the region, so we are already seeing a significant impact on the business," Thornton explained.

"The Asian precision medicine market as a whole presents a huge opportunity for Diaceutics. There are a number of indigenous Asian pharmaceutical companies emerging, particularly in the PDL1–2 space, with new drugs due to launch over the next few years," he added.

According to intelligence provider Market Research Future, the precision medicine market in the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.4 percent until 2022.

Many new opportunities

Diaceutics estimates that across the major Asian markets, there are more than 300 targeted therapies in late-stage development approaching commercialization.

"We are putting the resources in place to address this market opportunity. Currently, our key markets for Asian revenues are China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan," Thornton said.

Apart from the fact that Asia contributes a significant portion of its business, Diaceutics also partners with 166 laboratories in the region.

A natural step

Thornton said that for Diaceutics to open an office in Asia is a natural step for the company, given that more than half of the world population lives there.

"Our Singapore office is serving as a regional hub from which we plan to serve many of the leading Asian precision medicine markets," he said.

In particular, the Chinese market is leading the precision medicine space in the region to thrive.

"The country is making a concerted effort to provide those who get sick access to the latest and most effective treatments – that means rapidly approving ground-breaking new drugs," said Thornton.

The Chinese government has introduced a health care revamp – including restructuring its drug regulatory body – to accelerate marketing approval and encourage innovation. As part of the country's effort, regulators now accept foreign clinical data and give innovative products a priority review.

Biomarker testing will be crucial

Diaceutics describes China as an attractive market for pharmaceutical companies to launch new therapies. In the competitive the PD-1 space, for example, two homegrown drugs developed by Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. and Innovent Biologics Inc. were approved in December.

"As more targeted treatments become available, efficient biomarker testing will be crucial to getting those drugs to the right people," Thornton explained.

"China is a key growth opportunity for us. We are currently expanding our lab resources and contacts within China, with lab liaison experts covering the eastern seaboard, Hong Kong and Taiwan," he noted.

Thornton also described the company's model as "highly scalable" – one that will allow the company to expand its presence and enter other Asian markets in the future.

"Our business model is set up to have centralized resources combined with local experts, who will be based in the key markets to drive our business with pharmaceutical clients and our laboratory partners," he said.

Named Diaceutics Asia, the regional arm is building an initial team of six, including laboratory directors, data scientists and sales personnel, to cover all the links in its business.

"We will send diagnostic, pharmaceutical and laboratory experts and data development engineers to work with global and local pharmaceutical companies located in Asia. We will help them improve the diagnostic testing ecosystem in order to deliver better outcomes for patients," Thornton said.

But he also noted there are things to keep in mind when tapping into the Asian market. Foreign companies need to have an understanding of the varied operating practices, cultures and ways of doing business in order to maximize patient impact across Asia.