Scantek regains U.S. marketing rights

Scantek Medical of Denville, NJ, last month terminated its four-year licensing agreement with HumaScan of Cranford, NJ. By ending its deal with HumaScan, Scantek regains the rights to market and sell its BreastAlert Differential Temperature Sensor device in the U.S. and Canada.

The move came after HumaScan failed to pay Scantek licensing fees and royalties for BreastAlert, according to Scantek. HumaScan also ran into trouble with the Food and Drug Administration last year, which issued a warning letter regarding the company’s marketing tactics (SCAN 6/10/98).

Scantek developed BreastAlert to measure differences in temperature between breasts to detect breast disease as an adjunct to conventional mammography. Perhaps due to the novelty of the system, HumaScan has had difficulty winning acceptance for the product in the U.S. since sales began in early 1998.

Both companies agreed to settle their dispute by ending the licensing agreement. To cancel its $750,000 debt to Scantek, HumaScan transferred its BreastAlert assets to Scantek, including product hardware, software, equipment, and raw materials. Scantek paid $340,000 to HumaScan for other BreastAlert assets that were not included in HumaScan’s debt, and for 150,000 shares of HumaScan common stock.

With marketing rights firmly in hand, Scantek plans to ramp up its sales efforts in South America and to initiate marketing operations in Ireland, the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It hopes to finalize distribution agreements for the majority of these areas in the second quarter of this year. Over the next 10 to 12 months, Scantek will work to establish marketing networks in the U.S., focusing on physician education and support for BreastAlert.