Miraculins Inc. a medical diagnostic company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing diagnostic tests and risk assessment technologies for unmet clinical needs; London Drugs, one of Canada’s leading pharmacy chains; and Pear Healthcare Solutions, a leading provider of in-pharmacy health screening and educational services, today announce further details surrounding the retail pharmacy launch of the PreVu® Non-Invasive Skin Cholesterol Point of Care (POC) Test in London Drugs locations in Western Canada this fall.
“We are pleased to confirm that we will be launching the PreVu® POC Test in eleven of our stores, with ten being located in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, and another store now being added in Winnipeg,” said John Tse, Vice President, Pharmacy for London Drugs. “This includes our prestigious, brand new Olympic Village store, which is located in the previous home of the Canadian National Olympic Committee and the Athletes’ Multimedia Centre for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.” (A complete list of participating stores follows.)
The dates for the launch program will be Monday, October 29th with 6 of the stores participating, and Thursday, November 1st with the remaining 5 stores participating. Customers can call their pharmacists or visit participating stores to book an appointment. The PreVu POC Test will be made available for a special introductory price of $19.99 and will be performed in-store by London Drugs pharmacists. The test can be conducted in less than 5 minutes, with the results being readily available for a next-steps discussion.
“Since announcing the launch, London Drugs, Pear Healthcare and Miraculins team members have been working diligently to prepare for this important commercial introduction of PreVu® in Canada,” said Paul Moreau, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Miraculins Inc. “The launch will be pre-promoted in the regions through in-store and community advertising and public relations. Additionally, we are reaching out to doctors with a special information package being sent to over 3,600 physicians in advance so they can review the PreVu science and technology prior to the London Drugs premiere.”
It is anticipated that many members of the general public, and especially those who experience the PreVu test in-store, will want to talk to their healthcare provider about the test and their heart health overall, and an elevated awareness throughout the launch communities is intended to help facilitate such conversations. Based upon a patient’s PreVu test results, additional risk assessment under their healthcare provider’s direction may also be warranted, or should be considered. The PreVu POC Test does not diagnose coronary artery disease (CAD), but without blood draw or fasting it can quickly identify individuals who may possess hidden, higher levels of risk of CAD by measuring their skin cholesterol levels. Clinical studies have shown that elevated skin cholesterol is strongly associated with serious atherosclerotic disease*.
Following the launch, London Drugs will have an option to expand the PreVu POC Test into all 75 London Drugs stores. London Drugs operations extend from British Columbia to Manitoba, and the subsequent introduction of PreVu throughout its full network of stores - anticipated to begin in early 2013 – would be associated with a period of market exclusivity for London Drugs in delivering the technology through its retail pharmacy platform into the Western Canadian marketplace.
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