07:50 AM EDT, 09/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Life sciences company Microbix Biosystems ( MBXBF ) and Finnish company Labquality on Wednesday announced an external quality assessment (EQA) program to help clinical laboratories accurately identify head and neck cancers (HNC) associated with cancer-causing strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV).

A pilot EQA study was conducted earlier this year involving 32 clinical laboratories. The study identified "significant" discrepancies and unresolved risks in certain staining protocols, primarily due to the subjective nature of results interpretation, the company said.

To improve accuracy, Microbix created HNC patient samples that contain molecular targets for cancer diagnosis. Labquality designed a new EQA scheme help labs assess and ensure their precision.

Labquality is introducing the EQA scheme at the European Society for Clinical Virology meeting in Greece this week.

Shares in MBX closed down $0.01 at $0.23 on Tuesday.