Issued on behalf of Premaitha Health plc
Manchester, UK: Friday, 28 November 2014
£7.2m reverse listing to AIM enabling commercialisation of ground-breaking test for Down’s syndrome
Manchester, UK – 28 November 2014 – Premaitha Health (‘Premaitha’) (AIM: NIPT), an innovative molecular diagnostics company employing the latest advances in DNA analysis technology to develop tests for non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) today announced that Bionow has named the completion of the Company’s reverse listing on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM as its Investment Deal of the Year.
Presented at the Bionow awards dinner, the award recognised the success of the listing which saw Premaitha acquired in a reverse takeover by AIM-quoted ViaLogy for £10.5m on 4 July 2014. The Company then raised £7.2m via a Placing and Open Offer with shares placed at 11p per share. The deal took place at a key point for Premaitha, providing the Company with the resources to complete the commercialisation of its flagship product, the IONA® test, for launch in early 2015.
Dr Geoff Davison, Chief Executive of Bionow said: “The award of Investment Deal of the Year to Premaitha reflects what has been a highly successful strategic move for the Company. The AIM listing has set Premaitha in good stead as it prepares to launch its first-to-market NIPT product in Europe and for future developments as the Company continues to expand.”
Dr Stephen Little, CEO of Premaitha said: “We are very pleased to receive this award. It recognises both the value that we saw in the deal and the potential for our first-in-class non-invasive test for Down’s syndrome. The reverse listing has enabled us to ideally position Premaitha for the launch of the IONA® test. We now have a world-class commercial team in place, the facilities, and the expertise to ensure that the benefits of the test can be made available to any pregnant woman who needs it.”
At launch, the IONA® test will be the first non-invasive in vitro diagnostic product for prenatal screening which will enable clinical laboratories to offer CE-marked non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in-house for the first time. The test estimates the risk of a fetus having Down’s syndrome or other serious genetic diseases with a higher detection rate and lower false positive rate than existing screening tests. This gives pregnant women, their families and their doctors greater confidence in the result and reduces the need for unnecessary invasive follow-up tests and the associated anxiety and stress.
The reverse listing has provided Premaitha with sufficient funds to expand rapidly and to execute its commercialisation business strategy including an increase in headcount.
For more information, please contact:
Premaitha Health plc
Dr Stephen Little, Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Cross, Marketing Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 7736 843052
investors@premaitha.com
Instinctif Partners (Media)
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Jen Lewis / Emma Barlow
Tel: +44 (0) 207 457 2020
premaitha@instinctif.com
Visit www.premaitha.com for more information about the Company and the IONA® test.
