INDORE, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA and BROSSARD, QUEBEC, CANADA--(Marketwire - November 2, 2012) - Diagnos Inc. ("DIAGNOS" or "the Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:ADK) leader in diabetic retinopathy screening and healthcare technical services including algorithm development, data analysis, and image processing, announces today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh for the provision of diabetic retinopathy screening services to the diabetic population of the State.
The MoU was signed subsequent to meetings with the Honourable Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Principal Secretary, Public Health & Family Welfare, Mr. Pravir Krishn, and Controller - Food and Drug, Department of Public Health & Family Welfare, Dr. M. Geetha, during the Global Investors Summit in Indore. Under the terms of the MoU, the State Health Authorities will help assure required infrastructure facilities, incentives, concessions, and all necessary clearances under the State''s ''single window system'' for the launch of a State-Wide Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Program.
"The Government of Madhya Pradesh has created an excellent environment and opportunity for international firms like Diagnos to enter the State and to establish operations. We are very grateful for their hospitality and support, as well as the excellent support provided to us by the Quebec Office located within the Canadian Consulate in Mumbai. This MoU assures us that the Government will promote and support our efforts to offer DR screening services to the estimated 5 million people with diabetes in the State. With the support of local authorities, we plan to begin to implement mobile screening units to start to cover some of the 1,100 primary health centers and 8,800 sub-centers. We have already begun putting into place the necessary agreements with local healthcare providers to treat patients with positive screening results. If the pledged government support materializes under this MoU, and agreements with local healthcare providers proceed as planned, our present objective is to screen between 100,000 and 200,000 diabetic patients in the State in 2013, and expand from there." Peter Nowacki, Diagnos Vice-President - Healthcare.
"We are pleased to support companies from Québec who wish to make a strategic foray into the Indian market. We are very happy having been able to support Diagnos in securing this MoU with the Government of Madhya Pradesh, at the Global Investors Summit in Indore, organized by our office with Québec as the official partner state to the Government of Madhya Pradesh in organizing this Summit. We look forward to continuing to support a long and productive cooperation between the Government of Québec, Québec-based companies, and the various levels of government in India." Benoit-Jean Bernard, Québec Bureau Director, Mumbai, India.
"We continue to look to large developing markets such as India that require efficient and effective screening services like our CARA platform and our recently launched ''Beat It in a Blink!'' program. We are very pleased with this MoU and plan to deploy an operation in the State of Madhya Pradesh, to serve the large local population approximately 10-fold the size of Quebec, which represents a material opportunity for Diagnos." Andre Larente, Diagnos President.
About Madhya Pradesh
Located in the center of India, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state in the country by size, bordering seven other states, within the close proximity of all major markets and tier-one cities across the country. The State''s population of over 70 million constitutes a strong consumer base with a 10 year urbanization growth rate of 26% with bigger cities growing at 40%. Economically, Madhya Pradesh is one of the fastest growing states in India backed by an impressive CAGR of 9.5% during the period 2006-12, with 230 industrial areas including, 19 growth centers and 10 product specific industrial parks and four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to facilitate industrial investments. The population is served by 50 district hospitals, 1,100 primary health centers and 8,800 sub-centers.
About CARA
CARA is a tele-ophthalmology platform that integrates with existing equipment (hardware and software) and processes at the point of care (POC) and comprises: image upload, image enhancement automated pre-screening, grading by a specialist, and referral to a specialist. CARA''s image enhancement algorithms make standard retinal images sharper, clearer, and easier to read. CARA is accessible securely over the internet, and is compatible with all recognized image formats and brands of fundus cameras, and is EMR compatible. CARA is a cost-effective tool for screening large numbers of patients, in real-time and has been approved by regulatory authorities including Health Canada, US Food and Drug Administration, and the European Union.
About DIAGNOS
Founded in 1998, DIAGNOS is a publicly traded Canadian corporation with a mission to commercialize technologies combining contextual imaging and traditional data mining thereby improving decision making processes. DIAGNOS offers products, services, and solutions to clients in a variety of fields including healthcare and natural resources.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the Corporation. By their nature, these forward-looking statements necessarily imply risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks associated with market acceptance, competitive developments, the world economic situation and other factors. Except for ongoing obligations under securities laws to disclose all material information to investors, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For further information, please visit our website at www.diagnos.com or the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
Andre Larente
President
DIAGNOS inc.
1-877-678-8882 or (450) 678-8882, ext.: 224
alarente@diagnos.com
Louis Morin
Bid Capital Markets
514-845-1101
bidcapital@videotron.ca
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