Sinocare serious about treating diabetes

Sinocare Group is a biotech company that stays true to its mission: diabetes treatment, which was underscored by two recent acquisitions.

Headquartered in Changhsa, capital of Central China's Hunan province, the company consists of Sinocare Inc, Sinocare Jianheng Diabetes Hospital and its affiliates.

Sinocare is dedicated to innovative biosensor technology and the promotion of diabetic self-management by using blood-glucose monitoring systems.

Founded in 2002 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2012, the company has been named by Forbes as one of Asia's 200 Best Under a Billion companies.

Sinocare supports the widespread use of blood glucose meters in China. In recent years, the company has ramped up its globalization strategy.

On May 2, Sinocare announced it had agreed to acquire privately held PTS Diagnostics of Indianapolis, Indiana, for up for up to $200 million in cash. PTS Diagnostics makes point-of-care biometric testing devices. The company's manufacturing facilities are principally located in Indianapolis and Sunnyvale, California.

"Through continuous innovation, PTS Diagnostics has become the market leader of lipid, A1C and other important point-of-care biometric testing," said Shaobo Li, chairman and CEO of Sinocare. "We know Sinocare and PTS Diagnostics have a shared vision and mission to improve the quality of life for our users."

"We are quite pleased and excited by the many future opportunities that now open for us as a part of Sinocare, as together we will greatly expand our mutual global reach," said Robert Huffstodt, president and CEO of PTS Diagnostics. "We share a vision of innovation and creativity, and together we will make our various solutions available to a much larger customer base, driving action and connecting more people to improved outcomes.

"Our combined company will provide unmatched access to information that will help improve diagnosis and monitoring of multiple chronic diseases," Huffstodt said. "Together, our future will be centered on transforming preventative medicine, biometric testing, and connectivity by providing fast, easy, portable, and accurate medical devices and information management systems to individuals and healthcare professionals."

On Jan 7, Sinocare acquired Nipro Diagnostics, a US diabetes-testing company, for $273 million. The new subsidiary has been renamed Trividia Health Inc.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced products for diabetes patients, Trividia Health sells products under the True and store brand labels.

The company is an exclusive partner and supplier of blood-glucose monitoring and health and wellness solutions for retail pharmacies, distributors and mail service providers.

"Like Sinocare, Nipro Diagnostics has the long-term vision of being a leading global health and wellness company that offers innovative, high-value solutions so patients can live healthier lives," Li said.

"We have a great deal of respect for what the management team and employees have accomplished at Nipro Diagnostics, and we are confident in their ability to accelerate our shared vision.

"Joined together, our proven portfolio of products and services, our combined future direction and our strong confidence in the people who design, manufacture and sell our products and services will be vital to attaining our shared goals."

Scott Verner, who had been chairman, CEO and president of Nipro Diagnostics, was named CEO and president of Trividia Health and will be joined by key executives from his previous management team.

"Our company has experienced strong growth as a result of our new product launch cadence and our investments in highly sophisticated manufacturing and distribution facilities in the United States," Verner said.

"This is an exciting next chapter for our combined company. I'm proud to have led the company through many changes in the public and private markets. I look forward to maximizing the global potential of our portfolio of solutions for patients, healthcare providers and our customers," he said.

"The prefix TRI honors our three commitments to the patients, to the community, and to the shareholders of SinoCare; VI stands for the commitment to patient victory over diabetes and other health challenges; and DIA refers to the company's core diabetes foundation," Verner said.

"Finally, HEALTH was added to the name to signal the company's new focus on developing integrated health solutions beyond diabetes," he said.

On April 15 at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, Trividia Health announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its True Metrix Go self-monitoring blood glucose system, a convenience-sized device for people with diabetes to measure blood glucose.