Zila, Inc. (Zila), a US based dental devices company, announced the distribution agreement with Getwell Life Sciences (Getwell), based in India, to distribute its ViziLite Plus with TBlue, a proprietary oral cancer screening product, throughout India. Financial terms of the distribution agreement were not disclosed.

“India is obviously a major market that represents an excellent opportunity for ViziLite Plus. Through our relationship with Getwell, we plan to aggressively introduce our product all over the country,” said David Bethune, chairman and chief executive officer of Zila. “We are working closely with Getwell to gain the necessary regulatory approvals required by the Indian government in order to begin selling ViziLite Plus, which we expect to take approximately three months. Our plan is to offer the most cost effective product possible in order to reach the millions of Indians that could benefit from ViziLite Plus.”

“Oral cancer is the most common cancer in India, accounting for nearly 12% of all cancers detected and 50% to 70% of cancer-related deaths. The widespread practice of chewing various forms of tobacco and betel nut and smoking tobacco are the major causes of oral cancer,” said Suresh Pathak, chief executive officer & director of Getwell. “Abundant availability of ready-to-use tobacco pouches and gutkas are mainly responsible for the rampant use of tobacco, including by the young and educated. With cancer rates on the rise in India, the introduction of the new oral cancer screening product, ViziLite Plus, is particularly important.”