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| Sienna Cancer Diagnostics Investor Update - March 2019
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Message from the CEO
Dear Shareholder,
Your Company has had a great
start to 2019.
In February, I was invited
to attend StatLab, our exclusive
US distributor’s annual sales
conference. In a strong indication
of the importance of hTERT
to StatLab, Sienna was the
only outside supplier invited
to attend the entire meeting.
Participating in this event
has given me great confidence
that we will continue to see
growth in sales of our hTERT
diagnostic test in the USA.
Furthermore, the Sienna team
has been progressing the Company’s
strategic growth initiatives,
namely:
- Further global market penetration
of our hTERT test,
through increased sales
in markets in which
we already have a presence,
and through geographical
expansion; and
- Expanding our technology
pipeline.
Increasing sales through geographical
expansion is key to realising
the global market opportunity
for the hTERT test. To this
end, we’ve recently appointed
high-quality distributors for
Korea and Singapore, and we
expect to enter further markets
in the near future.
Expanding our technology pipeline
has been facilitated by the
$5.2 million raised via new
equity funding last year. This
funding has allowed Sienna
to progress the assessment
of several potential targets
for our expansion program.
This strategy is an important
one. We expect to create
a pipeline of products that
will generate a significant
increase in our market opportunity,
sustainable revenue and profit
growth.
Sienna possesses the core
competencies, knowledge, experience
and capability to leverage
its existing sales channels
to develop products that build
shareholder value. To accelerate
our efforts, we have engaged
expert consultants. The technologies
under review are an excellent
fit for Sienna’s development
and commercialisation pipeline.
Sienna’s vision is to continue
to develop and deliver to the
market products that are innovative
and solve an unmet clinical
need in the pathology diagnostics
market.
I look forward to providing
further updates on our progress.
Thank you for your continued
support.
Sincerely,
Matthew Hoskin
Chief Executive Officer |
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2019 Statlab National Sales Meeting
In February,
Sienna’s CEO
Matthew Hoskin
attended the
national sales
meeting of
the Company’s
US distributor,
Statlab. Matthew
reports:
StatLab’s
national sales
meeting was
held in Dallas
this year.
It brings together
the entire
StatLab sales
and support
team from around
the country.
This was the
first sales
conference
to be led by
StatLab’s recently
appointed Executive
Vice President
of Sales &
Marketing,
Wayne Rigler,
who joined
the company
around nine
months ago.
Wayne has had
a very successful
career in healthcare, including
17 years in
vice president-level
leadership
roles with
two regional
urology diagnostics
laboratories
that grew to
national scale
during his
tenure. He
has a very
deep knowledge
of the uropathology
market which
is the specific
subset of pathology
laboratories
to which Sienna’s
hTERT test
is sold.
I’m pleased
that our hTERT
test was featured
prominently
at the conference
and has been
identified
as a key focus
for StatLab’s
business growth.
Wayne highlighted
the emphasis
StatLab will
place on growing
the IHC (ImmunoHistoChemistry)
division of
their business,
and the “integral
and critical
component of
that strategy
- which is
hTERT”.
I was encouraged
to see the
new sales processes
that StatLab
is rolling
out under Wayne’s
leadership.
The reps were
trained on
a new sales
process and
methodology
called The
Challenger
Sale. It’s
a very disciplined,
process-oriented,
customer-centric
approach. The
sales force
is further
supported by
new, easy-to-use,
compelling
sales tools
and materials.
These processes
and tools are
a very positive
development.
New products
to support
the reps were
unveiled at
the conference,
including:
- An automated
instrument
and
consumables
for
running
IHC
tests
including
hTERT;
and
- A slide
preparation
instrument
(which
will
be
used
in
conjunction
with
the
consumables
StatLab
already
sells
to
its
customers)
to
prepare
the
hTERT
slides.
StatLab now
directly sells
everything
needed for
an hTERT slide
to be produced,
including the
sample collection
cup, the glass
slide, the
slide preparation
instrument,
the urine cytology
reagents for
the cytology
slide, the
IHC instrument
and detection
reagents to
stain the hTERT
slide, and
the coverslip
that completes
the slide.
StatLab is
now able to
package up
the entire
process for
a lab and sell
a complete
solution. That
makes it easier
to control
the process
technically,
offers greater
value and pricing
flexibility
for the customer,
and creates
a mechanism
to ensure long-term
use of the
hTERT test
in a laboratory.
Based on what
I saw at the
conference
and my personal
interactions
with Wayne
and other key
sales, I left
feeling that:
- StatLab
have
improved
its
capability;
- Its attention
to
and
belief
in
hTERT
is
high;
- hTERT is
seen
as
an
important,
differentiated
product
in
StatLab’s
portfolio;
and
- StatLab
is
committed
to
increasing
sales
of
the
product.
StatLab also
believes that
that the publication
of Sienna’s
first peer
review data
last year is
helping the
education process
in the market.
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Continued global expansion with appointments in Singapore and Korea
Sienna has hit
the ground running
in 2019 with the
signing of two
more distributors:
Mirax Corporation
in Korea and Mediwell
Enterprise in Singapore.
Sienna targeted
these two markets
as part of its
geographical expansion
program, which
focusses on delivering
the existing hTERT
test to new markets
around the world.
The recent signings
follow the US,
Denmark, Sweden,
Switzerland and
China.
Singapore, with
a population of
5.8 million people,
is one of the fastest
growing consumers
of IVD products
globally. The Singaporean
distributor Mediwell,
with the support
of Sienna, will
manage the process
of product approval
and registration
with the Medical
Devices Branch
of the Health Sciences
Authority (HSA).
The Republic of
Korea also represents
a significant market
opportunity for
Sienna, with over
300 thousand urine
cytology tests
performed annually.
The next step
for Korea, Singapore
and China is obtaining
regulatory approval
of the product,
after which Sienna’s
distribution partners
may begin marketing
and selling the
product. That process
is well underway
in all three countries. |
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Sienna in the news
To view the list of media articles in which Sienna has appeared, see
here
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