Aerocrine AB, a medical technology company focused on the improved management and care of patients with inflammatory airway diseases, has signed an distribution agreement with Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. (SPH) for marketing Aerocrine’s products in China. SPH is the third largest pharmaceutical company in China, with an extensive network of local sales people across China.

The agreement, effective as of September 24, 2012, gives SPH exclusive rights for import and non-exclusive rights for distribution of Aerocrine’s instrument NIOX MINO and test kits, used for diagnosing and monitoring patients with asthma, on the Chinese market. The previous distribution agreement has been terminated as of August 8, 2012.

SPH is China’s third largest pharmaceutical company with more than 37,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding 54 billion RMB (approximately 55 billion SEK or US$ 8.5 billion). The company, which is partly state owned, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and offers pharmaceutical distribution via its own network comprising of 41 subsidiaries and branches. SPH also operates and franchises a network of more than 1,650 retail pharmacies.

“Aerocrine is in a high-growth phase and we are continuously looking into optimizing our distribution and sales. Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in China and covers the most important provinces via their large sales forces and distributor networks”. As the number of provinces utilizing “Pay Per Test” (PPT), which is the ability for patients to pay their physicians for our test has increased, we needed a partner of scale to cover that increased geography”, says Scott Myers, Chief Executive Officer of Aerocrine.

Aerocrine’s product, NIOX MINO is approved by the Chinese authorities for commercialization. The FeNO method is mentioned in the clinical guidelines for asthma in China and has been approved for PPT (Pay Per Test) in 15 of the 32 provinces in China, which means that the doctors are allowed to charge patients for the tests.

“It is very rare that you come across a product that is so beneficial in so many aspects. As a paediatrician I have seen how many patients have uncontrolled asthma and now when using Aerocrine's product, they become better diagnosed and better medicated and improve their quality of life. In the end all of these patients will have positive economic effects for the health care sector as well as the country, so we are proud to be representing Aerocrine”, says Yu Qingliu, general manager, Medical Device & Surgicals of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding.

“We believe that the agreement with SPH constitutes an incredible opportunity for Aerocrine and we are very pleased SPH has chosen to add NIOX MINO to its product range. The Chinese market presents large potential and we see it as one of our absolute key markets for the future. SPH has shown great commitment to date and we look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship in the future,” says Morten Gunvad, VP and Commercial head of the region for Aerocrine.

Aerocrine offers versatile and easy-to-use exhaled Nitric Oxide (NO) monitoring devices for research and clinical applications. Aerocrine’s compact hand-held device is intended for routine measurements, where it can be used to improve the management of asthma and other inflammatory airway conditions in both specialist and primary care clinics. NIOX MINO offers added advantages for patient care including detecting of eosinophilic airway inflammation, determining the likelihood of corticosteroid responsiveness, monitoring of airway inflammation to determine the potential need for corticosteroid, and unmasking of otherwise unsuspected non adherence to corticosteroid therapy.