Q-Sera, an Australian venture-backed company, has announced a partnership with Terumo Corporation, the leading Japanese medical device company, which will see its patent protected RAPClot™ rapid serum tube technology manufactured and used in Japan.

RAPClot™ serum tubes (evacuated blood collection tubes) produce high quality serum in less than five minutes, reducing the turnaround time from sample collection to serum analysis compared with current technologies.

RAPClot™ is also effective in producing high quality serum from blood samples that contain anti-coagulants such as heparin. The ability of RAPClot™ tubes to generate high quality serum in less than 5 minutes and to clot anti-coagulated blood samples represents a substantial step forward in patient diagnosis.

Under the terms of the partnership, Terumo Corporation has been granted the exclusive rights to manufacture and market Q-Sera's rapid serum tube technology in Japan. Q-Sera will also supply Terumo Corporation with the recombinant protein RAPClot™.