Clearbridge Health to distribute Biolidics spin-off's coronavirus test kits regionally

CATALIST-LISTED Clearbridge Health will be a non-exclusive regional distributor of its Catalist-listed spin-off Biolidics' coronavirus antibody test kits, according to bourse filings.

Under an agreement inked and disclosed on Monday, subsidiary Clearbridge Medical Group will distribute the tests in the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam for a year.

Clearbridge, a controlling shareholder of Biolidics with a roughly 33 per cent stake, expects the arrangement to have a positive impact on its revenue for the year to Dec 31, 2020.

But its board warned that it "is unable to quantify the financial impact for FY2020 as it is unable to forecast or determine the demand for the Covid-19 antibody test kits in the territories".

Both companies also told shareholders and potential investors that the import and sale of the Biolidics test kits in these markets will be subject to relevant regulatory approval by the local authorities, with no certainty that any such approvals will be obtained.

Jeremy Yee Pinh and Johnson Chen, who are directors of both Clearbridge and Biolidics, abstained from making decisions about the agreement, the two companies said.

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The latest agreement follows Biolidics' appointment last week of Bangkok-based Mediproud as a non-exclusive distributor for the test kits in Thailand.

Biolidics also made headlines in April after it named Nasdaq-listed Aytu Bioscience as an exclusive distributor for its antibody test kits.

Despite media reports that Aytu had allegedly supplied healthcare providers in the United States with coronavirus tests from unapproved Chinese manufacturers, the Biolidics board has said that it does not expect a material impact on its business plans from the agreement with Aytu.

Biolidics closed flat at S$0.455 on Monday, while Clearbridge ended unchanged at S$0.195 before the latest announcement.