BATM subsidiary receives first commercial order for 'NATlab'

(Sharecast News) - Networking solutions and medical laboratory systems provider BATM Advanced Communications announced on Tuesday that Ador Diagnostics - its subsidiary focused on the development and marketing of unique in-vitro molecular diagnostics solutions - has received its first commercial order from a "leading distributor" of molecular biology and genomics products in Italy.
The London-listed firm said that under the agreement, Ador would deliver its new 'NATlab' reader and cartridges for the identification of meningitis in the second half of 2020.

It described Ador's NATlab molecular biology solution as providing rapid sample-to-answer diagnosis of bacterial, viral or fungal infections, within between 15 and 90 minutes, using DNA sampling.

The system was modular, compact and mobile, and was designed to be used at point-of-care as well as in hospital labs.

BATM said it believed NATlab would allow medical practitioners to provide significantly quicker and more efficient treatment.

This first commercial order for the new system followed extensive lab testing and the award of more than 40 global patents, including in Europe and the United States, with more pending.

The board said the first models of NATlab were expected to go into final trials in leading hospitals in the first half of this year, with the initial system having been already delivered this month.

"We are delighted that Ador has received the first commercial order for the NATlab system, which is an important milestone," said chief executive officer Dr Zvi Marom.

"Meningitis is a leading infectious cause of childhood death - and speed of identification and treatment is vital.

"We are proud that our rapid sample-to-answer solution will help medical practitioners to quickly and efficiently diagnose the specific infection and administer the required treatment."

Marom said he believed NATlab would "transform" the infectious disease diagnostics market, with the firm having already received "extremely positive feedback" and significant interest from a number of medical institutions that were testing the solution.

"Ador is also working alongside prominent academic and research institutions, including in the UK, to develop more panels for the identification of further diseases.

"We look forward to reporting on Ador's progress."

At 1002 GMT, shares in BATM Advanced Communications were up 7.79% at 41.5p.