Issued on behalf of Premaitha Health plc
Manchester, UK: Friday, 4 July 2014
The Premaitha business
- Today, Premaitha, located at the Manchester Science Park, UK has commenced trading on London Stock Exchange platform AIM. The Company has raised £7.2m by way of Placing and an Open Offer (TIDM: NIPT) which will be used to commercialise the IONA® test.
- Premaitha Health plc is a molecular diagnostics company employing next generation DNA analysis technology to develop molecular diagnostic products intended to have a major beneficial impact on human health.
- Premaitha’s first product, the IONA® test is a prenatal screening product which will be offered to pregnant women to determine the risk that their fetus is affected with Down’s Syndrome or other serious genetic diseases. The Directors of Premaitha believe that the IONA® test will be the first regulated CE marked in vitro diagnostic non-invasive prenatal screening product to market. The IONA® test is based on analysis of circulating fetal DNA, an approach which has both a higher detection rate and a lower false positive rate than existing screening tests. This means that expectant mothers can make better informed choices about their pregnancy without risk to them or their fetus.
- The targeted customers for the IONA® test are the estimated 600 laboratories offering prenatal screening within the EMEA region as well as similar laboratories throughout the rest of the world. Following the initial launch in Europe, expected early in 2015, it is the intention to extend sales and marketing activities into Asia.
- There are other potential clinical applications of next generation DNA analysis technology and, as these emerge, Premaitha expects to be in a position to capitalise upon them. Premaitha’s vision is that it can accelerate the adoption of clinically useful diagnostic information by taking promising biomarkers and translating them into convenient and widely available in vitro diagnostic products.
- The executive management team is led by Dr Stephen Little, CEO and a serial biotechnology entrepreneur. He has a successful proven diagnostic and commercial track record. Within Premaitha, he has assembled a similarly talented and experienced team and with the skills, knowledge and background needed to bring a prenatal screening product to market.
- David Evans, Non-Executive Chairman, also has a successful track record in acquiring, integrating and growing businesses in the diagnostic arena.
Commenting today, CEO Dr Stephen Little said: The IONA® test is a benefit to pregnant women as it is non-invasive, accurate and reliable and can provide valuable information about their pregnancy. Compared to existing methods, the IONA® test has both a higher detection rate and a lower false positive rate, leading to improved confidence in the screening result for both pregnant women and their doctors.”
“There is also significant demand from existing European screening laboratories for access to the new methodology and Premaitha’s simplified IONA® test is designed to meet these needs. For the first time, clinical laboratories across Europe will have access to a regulated diagnostic product to allow them to offer the test in-house.”
“As Premaitha builds and commercialises the IONA® test, we believe that the Company is not only building a valuable in vitro diagnostic product in its own right but also establishing a template for creating valuable diagnostic content.”
He added: “This is a very exciting time in the evolution of the Premaitha business model; the team and I look forward to being part of the newly structured entity and delivering our products to market as planned. We are also delighted to see the business trading on the London stock Exchange platform, AIM; we have been very encouraged by the strong support from both institutional and private investors which we believe is a testament to our future prospects. Through our public listing we are able to enhance our profile and it gives us a great opportunity to deliver our future aspirations within molecular diagnostics.
Visit www.premaitha.com for more information about the Company and the IONA® test.
Enquiries:
Instinctif Partners
Corporate media relations
Sue Charles
Jen Lewis
Emma Barlow
Tel: +44 (0) 1260 296 500
E: premaitha@instinctif.com
TooleyStreet Communications
Investor and media relations
Fiona Tooley
Tel: +44 (0) 7785 703523
E: fiona@tooleystreet.com
Premaitha Health plc
Dr Stephen Little, Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Cross, Marketing Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 7736 843052
E: investors@premaitha.com
Editors’ Note
Admission to London Stock Exchange Market AIM
- Premaitha Health plc (“Premaitha” or the “Company”): Admission and trading of its Ordinary Shares on AIM commences at 08.00hrs today (TIDM: NIPT).
- The Company has raised £7.2 million by way of a Placing and Open Offer at a price of 11 pence per share.
- The proceeds of the Placing and Open Offer will be used to commercialise the IONA® test and provide capital for the Enlarged Group’s sales and marketing initiatives.
- The issued share capital of the Company on Admission comprises 188,163,709 ordinary shares of 10 pence each.
