Item 1.01 Entry into Material Definitive Agreement.

The Registrant announced today that it agreed to now offer for sale vacuum blood collection tubes ("VBCT").

A VBCT is a glass or plastic test tube with a colored rubber stopper that creates a vacuum seal inside of the tube, facilitating the drawing of a predetermined volume of liquid. VBCT may contain additives designed to stabilize and preserve the specimen prior to analytical testing. VBCT are available with a safety-engineered stopper, with a variety of labeling options and draw volumes.

When a VBCT is inserted into the clear plastic sheath attached to the blood collection tube, its rubber cap is punctured by an inner needle and the vacuum in the tube pulls blood through the needle and into the VBCT. The filled VBCT is then removed, and another can be inserted and filled the same way. The amount of air evacuated from the VBCT predetermines how much blood will fill the VBCT before blood stops flowing.

VBCT often include additives that mix with the blood when collected. Each VBCT is topped with a color-coded plastic or rubber cap, and the color of each tube's plastic cap indicates which additives it contains. The meanings of the various VBCT colors are standardized across manufacturers.

The additives in the VBCT may include anticoagulants (EDTA, sodium citrate, heparin) or a gel with density between those of blood cells and blood plasma. Additionally, some VBCT contain additives that preserve certain components of or substances within the blood, such as glucose. When a VBCT is centrifuged, the materials within are separated by density, with the blood cells sinking to the bottom and the plasma or serum accumulating at the top. Tubes containing gel can be easily handled and transported after centrifugation without the blood cells and serum mixing.

VBCT may contain additional substances that preserve blood for processing in a medical laboratory. Using the wrong VBCT may make the blood sample unusable for the intended purpose. These additives are typically thin film coatings applied by the factory using an ultrasonic nozzle.

The shelf life of the VBCT expire over time because the vacuum is lost, and blood will not be drawn into the tube when the needle punctures the cap.

VBCT are also used as a medium to transport COVID-19 test specimens to PCR testing laboratories and are among the basic medical supplies taken by disaster relief programs to affected area.

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