Pioneering biotech firm out to raise £8m

MANCHESTER-based biotech firm Premaitha Health is bidding to raise £8m with a placing of 40 million shares at a price of 20p each.

The company, which has pioneered the IONA non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) for Down’s Syndrome in unborn children, says the placing is to build on its significant progress since its AIM listing in July last year.

It follows hard on the heels of the launch by Premaitha of the first and only NIPT product backed up with excellent clinical data performance.

The company wants the cash to accelerate the commercialisation of the IONA test by increasing levels of customer support and boosting its in-house capability.

It also want to offer a rental model  to selected customers where there are opportunities for commercial leverage and to Increase working capital associated with revenue growth.

Premaitha is also planning to fund further product development and additionally needs to fund litigation to fight a robust defence and counter-claim for alleged infringements of patents by US company Illumina and its subsidiary of Verinata Health, which has also been working on NIPT technology.

Chief executive Dr Stephen Little said: “There has been growing interest from the international fetal and maternal medicine community for a lower risk, non-invasive prenatal screening solution.
 
“Premaitha’s IONA test meets this need directly providing more convenient, accurate and faster results for pregnant women thereby reducing the need for unnecessary invasive follow-up procedures.
 
“The test has been received well by healthcare providers as evidenced by contract wins from both the private and NHS sectors across Europe.

“By raising money now, we are capitalising on our first mover advantage from having the first CE-marked NIPT in vitro diagnostic product on the market. The proceeds of the placing will further strengthen our position, enabling us to develop our product and enhance our customer service offering.

“Our intention is for the IONA test to become part of the standard of care for all pregnant women, not just those at high risk. This is a very exciting time to be in the NIPT space.”

Cairn Financial Advisers is acting as nominated adviser and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited is acting as broker in respect of the placing.

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