7 Feb 2017 07:00
7 February 2017
Concepta plc ("Concepta" or the "Company")
Concepta signs technology transfer and licence agreement with Selective Antibodies to develop stress test for myLotus fertility product
Concepta plc (AIM:CPT), the UK healthcare company targeting the personalised mobile health market with a primary focus on women's fertility, is pleased to announce that it has signed a technology transfer and licence agreement ("Agreement") with Selective Antibodies Ltd, a UK based diagnostics company ("Selective Antibodies"), for the development of a stress test. This is part of the Company's new product development for its proprietary myLotus home self-testing platform that helps women with unexplained infertility* to conceive. This is in line with the strategy set out at the time of the Company's admission to AIM In 2016.
Under the Agreement, Concepta will, inter alia, be granted the rights to intellectual property ("IP") developed by Selective Antibodies, comprising licensed patents and associated knowhow, for the measurement of small molecules in bodily fluids.
The key terms of the Agreement include:
· Cost - Concepta will pay Selective Antibodies for the development of the test and for technology transfer, plus a royalty based on sales of products developed using the IP. Work on the product development will start on 1st March 2017
· Terms of agreement - subject to fulfilment of obligations on each party, up until the date 5 years beyond the expiry of the patents to which the IP relates
This will be used to expand Concepta's existing myLotus platform capabilities (which includes measurements of a woman's personal hCG and LH hormone levels), enabling users to also monitor stress through quantitative measurement of their levels of stress hormones of which cortisol is the key one. Stress is a common cause of several health conditions and is widely recognised as a key factor, which can significantly impact both male and female fertility factors.
Erik Henau, CEO of Concepta commented: "Concepta's key differentiator in the mobile health and personalised healthcare sector has been to develop a platform that grants users the ability to quantify their personal results from home diagnostic tests, with the initial focus helping women with unexplained infertility to conceive.
"We believe our myLotus platform opens the door to wider health monitoring at home to improve individual health parameters, seeing the real-time effects of medical interventions and using the data collected to adjust treatment accordingly.
"As such, our first collaborative project, with Selective Antibodies, is focused on stress which has a significant documented impact on both male and female fertility. With Selective Antibodies' innovative method of measuring very small molecules in bodily fluids, we look forward to working with them to develop supplementary products which link to our core fertility business.
"Furthermore, we remain on track for the launch of myLotus into the Chinese market in H1 2017, having appointed an experienced country manager before Christmas and with regulatory approval and manufacturing agreements in place. We look forward to updating the market further on this progress and, with ISO13485 accreditation in place, we continue to prepare for the commercial launch of myLotus in the UK and Europe towards the end of the year."
Prof Colin Self, MD of Selective Antibodies commented: "Concepta has the vision to bridge the gap between technical capability and consumer needs. Selective Antibodies have developed a patented method to detect small molecules in different bodily fluids whilst Concepta can rapidly progress laboratory concepts into production. We hope this is the first of a series of projects and look forward to working with Concepta in the future."
ENDS
Enquiries:
Concepta plc
Adam Reynolds, Chairman
Tel: +44 (0) 7785 908158
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (NOMAD)
Neil Baldwin / Mark Brady
Tel: +44 (0)20 368 3550
Beaufort Securities Limited (Broker)
Jon Belliss
Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 8300
Yellow Jersey PR Limited (Financial PR)
Felicity Winkles / Joe Burgess / Francesca Hillier
Tel: +44 (0) 7748 843 871
Selective Antibodies Limited
Colin Self
Email: colinself@selectiveantibodies.com
About Concepta Plc:
Concepta plc is a pioneering UK healthcare company that has developed a proprietary platform and products targeted at the personalised mobile health market with a primary focus on women's fertility and specifically unexplained infertility*.
Founded in 2013, Concepta has developed a revolutionary flagship product 'MyLotus' for home self-testing that helps women with unexplained infertility to conceive.
MyLotus is the only consumer product which allows both quantitative and qualitative measurements of a woman's personal hCG and LH hormone levels in an easy to use home test to facilitate higher conception rates and early diagnosis of any fertility problems. Competitor products currently only allow qualitative measurement and are based on the 'average woman'.
Concepta has a defined route to market for its new 'My Lotus' product with Regulatory approvals for launch in China in place for 2016 and CE-Marking for UK and Europe to follow in 2017 where the revenue potential of the Chinese and EU infertility market is worth c.£600m per annum for the company.
*Unexplained infertility refers to women that have been unable to conceive after 6 months of trying. This highly motivated target group of consumers won't typically be offered medical intervention until 12 months of unsuccessfully trying, with IVF not offered until two years. Research indicates couples start to take positive action ahead of this time and there is little medical support to help them do so.
About Selective Antibodies Ltd:
Selective Antibodies is a UK based diagnostics company with the prime focus of overcoming key technological problems central to the production of high performance point of need systems for small target molecules such as: medicaments, natural and unnatural toxins (such as fungal toxins and pesticides), drugs of abuse, CBRNE substances, and other substances of importance to forensic investigation, the environmental and food and water industries.