Acupath Laboratories Inc. And UroGPO Announce A Partnership To Offer The URO17® Bladder Cancer Biomarker In The United States

Plainview, NY and Cleveland, OH /PRNewswire/ - Acupath Labs and UroGPO announced in April a partnership to make URO17® available to the UroGPO membership nationwide. URO17® is a non-invasive, cost-effective urine-based biomarker used in diagnosis and management of bladder cancer, the 6th most common form of cancer in the US. Available as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) in the United States, Acupath was the first lab worldwide to offer URO17® in July 2019 and has performed over 20,000 tests since that time. UroGPO will offer discounted reagents and information for the URO17® test to the members of their Group Purchasing Organization.

Each year over 85,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed, while many more patients are subjected to unnecessary and invasive procedures to address common symptoms such as hematuria, or blood in the urine. With a high sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV), URO17 can provide invaluable information and help clinicians better risk stratify patients, identifying those that require additional and often invasive follow up treatments, and those that do not. Further, for urology practices with Physician Office Labs (POL's) or commercial / hospital pathology labs, URO17 represents an opportunity to generate a significant new and clinically relevant revenue stream.

"Acupath has worked closely with UroGPO for the last several years and we are excited to formally make URO17® available to urology practices nationwide through the UroGPO network. In addition to the compelling clinical utility, our clients appreciative how URO17 can be seamlessly integrated into their practices' workflow and in office pathology labs, often with no additional investment." says John Cucci, Chief Sales Officer of Acupath Laboratories, Inc.

"As we expand our solutions around bladder cancer care, UroGPO has been pleased with the addition of URO17® to our membership offerings. Acupath partners with members as a consultant for all things implementation and optimization, which has proven to be a unique point of value in this offering. This partnership has strengthened our commitment to improving patient outcomes," says Palmer DePetro, Sr. Director, Contracting at Specialty Networks.

About Acupath Laboratories, Inc.
Founded in 1998 and based in Plainview, New York, Acupath is a provider of sub-specialized anatomic pathology services focused on the following specialties; Urology, Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Women's Health, Otolaryngology, Podiatry, and Hematology / Oncology. Acupath offers an extensive test menu on both a global and TC/PC basis, processes over 500,000 specimens annually, and is the first lab worldwide to offer URO17™, an innovative bladder cancer biomarker, designated as a "Breakthrough Device" by the FDA in 2019.

About UroGPO
UroGPO, a Specialty Networks Company, is the first and largest urology-specific Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) in the United States, comprised of more than 700 of the largest, most progressive independent urology practices in the country. Our membership includes more than 7,500 urology providers, including 4,000 practicing urologists in 3,200 locations spanning 49 states. UroGPO is committed to helping urology groups remain independent by providing them with pre-negotiated purchasing contracts, development of new revenue streams such as In-Office Dispensing of Oral therapeutics, Clinical Guideline Development, and other resources in all areas of urology. The goals of UroGPO are to build stronger patient relationships by improving patient care, make significant positive impacts on in-practice operational efficiencies and streamline operational costs.

About Specialty Networks
Specialty Networks brings together the functional expertise of UroGPO, GastroGPO, PPS Analytics, and SN Research to deliver innovative and meaningful solutions for independent specialty providers. Specialty Networks serves a highly specialized member network of 765+ physician group practices consisting of over 7,700 providers in urology and gastroenterology. Specialty Networks' mission is to help create clinical, economic, and operational value for our members leading to a positive patient impact.

URO17® is a registered trademark of KDX Diagnostics, Inc.