Mayo Clinic and Kindstar Global Join to Provide New Diagnostic Testing Services in China

Businesswire.com reported today that the Mayo Clinic has announced that it has agreed to provide special laboratory support and knowledge from its Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and its reference laboratory, Mayo Medical Laboratories, to Wuhan Kindstar Globalgene Technology, Inc. (Kindstar) in a multi-year partnership to grow Mayo’s ability to spread improved and advanced healthcare throughout the world.

Kindstar Diagnostics Co., Ltd. has laboratory facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan which provide diagnostic testing services to hospitals and physicians in every province of China, according to the story at businesswire.com.

Mayo Clinic’s role will be to provide advice and guidance on tests, laboratory quality, and accreditation standards, as well as test information, including standard operating procedures and methodologies, to help Kindstar develop and launch high-quality esoteric tests in China, as reported in the story at businesswire.com.  Mayo Clinic clinicians will also help Kindstar physicians understand the medical and technical benefits of tests. Mayo Clinic’s incentive for the partnership is equity in Kindstar. “The clinic also participated in Kindstar’s Series B financing,” according to the story at businesswire.com.

“Mayo Clinic’s legacy of providing exceptional patient care and advancing the science of health care delivery through the transfer of knowledge and information allows Mayo Clinic to inform, inspire, and partner with people worldwide in their quest for better health,” said Franklin Cockerill, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories, and chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic. “As Mayo Clinic collaborates with others to provide the best in health care, we extend the hope and healing of Mayo Clinic to people everywhere. It is how we bring our values to life, make our mission a reality, and achieve our global vision for the future.”

“Currently, Kindstar offers 750 tests in specialties including hematology, oncology, genetics, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Through the collaboration with Mayo Clinic, Kindstar will expand its test menu offerings, promoting high-quality diagnostic and therapeutic care for the people of China by providing patients and physicians the broadest access to advanced esoteric testing services,” the story at businesswire.com reports.

“We are excited about the collaboration we have developed with Mayo Clinic,” says Shiang Huang, M.D., founder and CEO of Kindstar. “The strategic collaboration will allow Kindstar to expand the current testing services we offer Chinese physicians and position our business as the leading diagnostic company in the fastest growing market in the world.”

A story at wisbusiness.com, a Wisconsin business web site, reports that Kindstar also announced today it has raised $11 million in Series B financing from WI Harper Group, Baird Capital Partners Asia (Baird), Morningside Ventures, as well as the Mayo Clinic. Morningside Ventures exclusively provided Kindstar’s series A investment in 2008, according to the story.

Kindstar offers 750 tests in hematology, oncology, genetics, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease, according to the story at businesswire.com. Through its collaboration with Mayo Clinic, Kindstar will be able to expand the amount and kind of tests it offers in China.

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