PATHCARE PATHOLOGY GROUP, SERVICE PROVIDERS TO LAZARON

PathCare is a South African and International Pathology group, which is positioned as a world-wide leader with broad expertise and knowledge in various specialized fields.

PATHCARE COMPANY HISTORY

The history of the PathCare Group of Pathologists extends back to 1922 when Dr Patrick Mulligan immigrated to South Africa from Southern Ireland and formed the first private pathology practice in the country.

The practice grew slowly over the years and shortly after the Second World War he was joined by his son, Terence Mulligan.

In 1973, Dr Bruce Dietrich joined the practice and from then on the practice grew rapidly by natural growth and by amalgamation of several other successful private pathology practices in various cities in South Africa.

These practices operate today under the name of PathCare South Africa.

The practice then expanded into the rest of Africa. Initially in Namibia, followed by Nairobi in Kenya, (PathCare Kenya, Ltd) and more recently, Lagos in Nigeria (PathCare Nigeria Ltd).

PathCare has extended to the United Arab Emirates, doing overflow work for the Emirates Airline Clinic in Dubai and later set up a depot to collect specimens from other doctors, clinics and hospitals in the UAE and surrounding countries.

In conjunction with Covance, an international drug trial company, it formed DSP Global to do international drug trials for Covance Geneva and Covance Indianapolis.

Under the guidance of Dr Fanie Weyers it operates in the United Kingdom and has a thriving laboratory in Kingston on Thames in the New Victoria Hospital.

PathCare has always been committed to its social responsibilities and is an equal opportunity employer.

PathCare was the first pathology practice in South Africa to be fully SANAS (South African National Accreditation System) accredited (ISO Guide 17025). This is an international accreditation system which ensures that the quality of the results produced by PathCare is of international standards. This accreditation is maintained via annual inspections by the SANAS Accreditation Committee.

SERVICES PROVIDED BY PATHCARE

The general services rendered by PathCare cover all disciplines of pathology i.e. hematology, chemical pathology including endocrinology and allergy testing, microbiology, serology, histopathology and cytopathology and the rapidly expanding new discipline of molecular pathology.

The insurance industry and industrial and occupational health services are catered for by separate departments which are entirely devoted to their special test requirements.

The PathCare Clinical Trials division provides pathology services to international pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations which are engaged in conducting trials on new medications and therapies.

PATHCARE SUPPORT SERVICES

PathCare employs professional nursing sisters who are responsible for collecting specimens at strategically situated depots within, or in the vicinity, of many private hospitals and medical centres.

These specimens are transported from the depots to central laboratories by the PathCare courier service. There are currently about 200 vehicles in the PathCare fleet. This collection infrastructure enables PathCare to focus on ensuring that the clinician is provided with the patients' test results in as short a time as possible. This is part of the PathCare focus of providing a quality service.

The supporting infrastructure also includes departments for information technology, finance, accounts, marketing and client services, human resources, training, general administration, supplies and stores.

PATHCARE QUALITY AND ACCREDITATION

Because the well-being and even the lives of patients are at stake, quality assurance is afforded high priority throughout the entire PathCare group. A separate department for accreditation and quality assurance is devoted to this extremely important aspect of pathology service. This department monitors the performance of all laboratories and depots in the Group against defined performance criteria and oversees participation in a number of external and internal quality assurance programs.

All PathCare laboratories are accredited by SANAS, the South African National Accreditation System, according to internationally accepted standards embodied in guidelines drawn up by the International Standards Organization (ISO). SANAS carries out regular inspections at all PathCare laboratories. In addition, PathCare laboratories in the larger centres are accredited institutions for the training of medical technologists.

PathCare is also a member of the National Pathology Group of South Africa and is a co-signatory of the National Pathology Group's strict Code of Conduct, which defines the ethical standards of pathology in South Africa.

PATHCARE NETWORK

Currently PathCare can collect and forward cord blood samples from an ever expanding list of locations, where either laboratories exist or PathCare has depots.

International PathCare Namibia PathCare UAE PathCare Kenya, Nairobi PathCare Nigeria, Lagos New Victoria Pathology Services Ltd, Surrey, UK
Local including Namibia
Alexander Bay Aliwal North Bethlehem Bloemfontein Cape Town Carletonville Ceres East London Fochville George Gobbis Grootfontein Harrismith Heidelberg Hermanus Jeffreys Bay Kathu Keetmanshoop Kimberley Kingwilliams Town	Klerksdorp Knysna Kroonstad Kuruman Lesotho Lichtenburg Luderitz Mafikeng Maseru Meyerton Mossel Bay Odendaalsrus Oshakati Otjiwarango Oudtshoorn Paarl Plettenberg Bay Port Elizabeth Potchefstroom Queenstown	Qwa-Qwa Rehoboth Sasolburg Somerset West Springbok Stellenbosch Strand Swakopmund Uitenhage Upington Van der Bijlpark Vereeniging Virginia Vredenburg Vredendal Vryburg Walvis Bay Welkom Windhoek Worcester

Lazaron Biotechnologies (SA) Ltd
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration No. 2004/004630/06