23 Aug 2017 12:00
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)
23 August 2017
Concepta plc
("Concepta" or the "Company")
CORPORATE UPDATE
Concepta makes first shipment of myLotus fertility product to China
Founding member of Company appointed Head of China Operations
Concepta plc (AIM: CPT) the pioneering UK healthcare company and developer of a proprietary platform and suite of products targeted at the personalised mobile health market with a primary focus on women's fertility and specifically unexplained infertility, is pleased to provide a positive update regarding its marketing and sales drive into China of its myLotus fertility product.
Following the receipt of its first sales order, totalling £225,000, for its myLotus fertility product from its partner in China, HuanZhong Biotech Co.Ltd (see announcement 13 June 2017), the Company has made its first shipment of products to China. As part of this first shipment, the Company scaled up production of its test strips at its UK manufacturing site in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, allowing it to shorten its lead-time for shipment by two weeks. The Company expects to make further regular shipments to fulfil this order in the coming weeks.
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has appointed Zhang Zhi Gang, as Head of China Operations. Zhang was one of the founders of Concepta Diagnostics Limited and led the way in developing key contacts in China for manufacturing and distribution. Zhang has extensive knowledge of the Chinese healthcare market. Her previous position was as General Manager at Alere China Co. Ltd ("Alere"). During her time at Alere she helped launch 8 new products and managed 5 product lines. Previously to this Zhang was at Unipath UK where she helped develop the patented algorithms currently used by Clearblue's range of fertility and pregnancy test products.
Zhang is currently managing a hospital evaluation process for Concepta to support the use of myLotus products for early pregnancy monitoring. This application is of particular importance in China, where the use of myLotus is seen as an opportunity to reduce the overwhelming number of hospital appointments and offer a better way to manage the early pregnancy period. This will extend the potential application of myLotus to a considerable number of pregnancies each year across China.
Erik Henau, CEO says: "We are pleased to have made our first shipment of test strips to China, and particularly pleased to have done so with such a quick turnaround time, testament to the quality of operations at our UK laboratory.
"We are also extremely pleased that Zhang Zhi Gang has taken on this important role in our Chinese operation, she will be an important part of the next phase of Concepta's Chinese launch. The response thus far from Chinese doctors has been very positive and the additional evaluation to support early pregnancy monitoring is underway.
"We have been working hard behind the scenes to engage our raw material suppliers to receive stocks within quoted lead times. In parallel there is particular attention to the application of our Quality System and its stringent Quality Assurance standards. We continue to work closely with our Chinese partners to assemble the approved products prior to our launch of products into hospitals in China. We look forward to keeping our shareholders informed on our progress in China with regular announcements over the coming months."
Enquiries:
Concepta plc
Adam Reynolds, Chairman / Erik Henau, CEO
Tel: +44 (0) 7785 908158 / +44 (0) 7557 985479
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/ Katie Bairsto
Tel: +44 (0) 7748 843 871
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 'myLotus' product with Regulatory approvals for launch in China in place for H1 2017 and CE-Marking for UK and Europe to follow later in 2017. 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.