2 May 2017 07:00
2 May 2017
Sphere Medical Holding plc
("Sphere", "Sphere Medical" or the "Company")
Commercialisation Update
~ Proxima building European sales traction in adult and paediatrics ~
Sphere Medical Holding plc (AIM: SPHR.L), an innovative point-of-care monitoring and diagnostic devices company, today provides a commercialisation update for its wholly-owned Proxima platform product.
Proxima 4 was launched into the European market in December 2016 and a positive reaction to the product has been received with forward visibility of an expanding sales pipeline. Over 40 hospital departments have engaged with Sphere Medical on Proxima 4 and have requested evaluations, of which more than 30 have undergone a product demonstration. Evaluations, in which the system is connected to patients, have been conducted at 14 hospital departments and to date six hospital departments across three countries have placed orders for Proxima 4, more than doubling the key metrics over the two months from the announcement of our Full Year Results on 28 February 2017. Follow-up discussions are underway with the other hospitals which have conducted evaluations.
One of the advantages of Proxima 4 over the previously available product, Proxima 3, is the paediatric application, where a patient's blood conservation during procedures is typically even more critical than in adults. Since the launch of Proxima 4, the system has been connected to children for the first time and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital has already placed an order, becoming the first paediatric unit to purchase Proxima product.
In continental Europe, the list of product distributors continues to expand and now includes Eumedics Medizintechnik GmbH in Austria. Training, marketing and monitoring of patients in hospitals are now underway via Burke and Burke in Italy and Prhoinsa is on track to commence marketing in Spain imminently.
Production processes have now been fully converted to Proxima 4 from the earlier product iteration, Proxima 3, and the establishment of Sphere's manufacturing facility in Wales has continued to progress according to plan. As is normal in the ramp up of wafer based technologies, a key focus remains on increasing product yield. We have been experiencing occasional limitations on the supply of Proxima 4 sensors. However, whilst supply is currently low, the Board is confident that yields will improve and there will be sufficient supply in place to meet the sales targets for the current full year and beyond.
Commenting on the commercial traction of Proxima, Wolfgang Rencken, CEO of Sphere Medical, said: "We are very pleased with the market reaction to Proxima 4 and encouraged by the early response from customers. We look forward to building on this through 2017."
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Sphere Medical Holding plc | Tel: +44 (0)1223 875 222 | |
Dr Wolfgang Rencken, Chief Executive Officer | ||
Richard Wright, Chief Financial Officer | ||
Panmure Gordon | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 | |
Freddy Crossley (Corporate Finance) | ||
Duncan Monteith (Corporate Finance) | ||
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking) | ||
Consilium Strategic Communications | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700 | |
Mary-Jane Elliott | spheremedical@consilium-comms.com | |
Ivar Milligan | ||
Hendrik Thys | ||
Notes for Editors
About Sphere Medical (AIM: SPHR.L)
Sphere Medical is an innovative point-of-care medical device company. Its Proxima platform measures blood gases, electrolytes and metabolites at the patient's bedside and aims to improve patient care and reduce health system costs. The device is sold directly to the critical care market via Sphere Medical's sales force in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium and via distributors in Italy, Spain and Austria. For further information, please visit www.spheremedical.com.