Chief executive David Darling told the Otago Daily Times securing the patent was a significant achievement for the company.
"You are never sure how the patents will roll out, but it's good to get the first examination through and get the patent issued. It shows we have a solid base for the detection of bladder cancer."
Pacific Edge's bladder cancer diagnostic technology enabled the early detection of bladder cancer from a small volume of urine - about 20ml.
The non-invasive test could be carried out "on the way to golf" rather than cancer patients having to wait six to eight weeks to see a urologist at a hospital and having to stay overnight while testing was carried out under general anaesthetic.
The test was expected to provide general practitioners and urologists with a quick and accurate measure of the presence of cancer.
It was anticipated the test would also be used for monitoring patients for recurrence following treatment.
Patients who had been diagnosed with bladder cancer had to have the monitoring procedure six times in the first year and four times a year for the next few years.
"This is expected to make a big impact, but we won't know how that will happen until patients get wind of it and doctors come on board."
Initially, the business will start in Dunedin, alongside the existing Pacific Edge operations, to service the 300 urologists in Australia and New Zealand.
While that was not a big client base, it was relatively easy to service and a large proportion of the 300 had been involved in the clinical trial, due to be completed in August this year.
The trial was being held in New Zealand, Australia and Russia with the recruitment of 1000 patients, at a cost of $1.6 million.
Bladder cancer was one of the most common cancers in Western society, Dr Darling said.
In New Zealand and Australia, latest figures showed that bladder cancer was the fifth most common cancer among men and the eighth most common cancer overall.
Bladder cancer had the highest medical costs of any cancer, driven in part by high recurrence rates.
Up to 80% recurrence rates were common, with about 15% later-stage tumours, he said.
Commercialisation was planned to follow on in Singapore, the United States and Europe by providing services to physicians and urologists through a centralised service laboratory in each region.
Pacific Edge anticipated forming partnerships in several of those locations using the services model being developed in Dunedin for New Zealand and Australian markets.
Negotiations were under way in the US and the successful commercialisation of the product was expected to generate annual revenue for the company of more than $100 million with full market penetration.
Reaching that level of "steady state market" where sales were at an optimum level could take four to five years, Dr Darling said.
