Chinese demand for Yorkshire medical company’s expertise

Medical company RD Biomed, based in Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, has had a product approved by Chinese health authorities.

Peptest – a non-invasive device for diagnosing reflux disease – has now been officially launched in China.

The device will help advance the knowledge and management of reflux disease in China and change traditional diagnosis and treatment – leading medical experts have said.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease has been a common disease in Western countries for many years, but population studies have always indicated a lower prevalence in Asia.

However, a large-scale study across Shanghai and Beijing in China has revealed the prevalence for reflux disease in the Chinese population is much higher than previously reported.

Under the study – co-ordinated by Chinese medical company Maxhealth Medical Group Co – Peptest was introduced and validated in major clinical centres in Shanghai and Beijing with more than 1,000 patients.

The study highlighted the advantage of using Peptest over traditional, invasive reflux diagnostic tests, with marked improvement in the accuracy of reflux diagnosis.

An official launch ceremony for Peptest, at the Sheraton Grand Shanghai Pudong Hotel in Shanghai, featured guests, including Mark Watson, a leading consultant Ear Nose and Throat surgeon in the UK and current President of the British Laryngological Association; Professor Peter Dettmar, founder of RD Biomed, inventor of Peptest and former developer of Gaviscon.

Dettmar said: “We’re thrilled that following years of intensive research and hard work from Chinese distributor MaxHealth, Peptest has been officially registered as a product with the Chinese National Medical Products Administration and is now available in the country.

“The medical device market in China is an important strategic target market so this is a momentous occasion for RD Biomed and Peptest.”