Cambridge (UK) based Sphere Medical is a developer of a range of monitoring and diagnostic products designed to provide significant improvements in patient management in a number of hospital specialties. The company has issued a press release in which it has announced its flotation on AIM on 17th and 18th November.
AIM Listing
The Placing raised £14.0 million for the Company (£12.8 net of expenses). At the Placing Price of 92.5 pence per Ordinary Share the market capitalisation of the Company is £34.05 million. Following Second Admission, the Company’s enlarged issued share capital will be 36,805,644 Ordinary Shares.
The Products
Sphere Medical’s products are expected to allow near real time measurement of blood gases, various electrolytes and drug levels with laboratory accuracy, at the patient’s bedside. This information can be used in a wide range of medical applications and is intended to enable faster clinical decision making and consequently to improve the management of patients.
Sphere Medical’s two most advanced products, based on its proprietary microanalyser platform technology, are a disposable patient-attached arterial blood analyser for use in the Intensive Care Unit and Operating Room (‘Proxima’) and a device for continuous blood monitoring in the bypass circuit in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery (“CPB device”). Sphere Medical has also developed a device (‘Pelorus 1000’) that can measure blood levels of the intravenously administered anaesthetic drug, propofol. In each case, these products will ultimately target patients requiring close monitoring and frequent levels of blood testing.
Sphere Medical employs 43 staff in the areas of research and development, product development, sales and marketing and management and operations at its premises at Harston, Cambridge, UK.
Commercialisation
Sphere’s Proxima Generation 1 device is CE marked and received FDA 510(k) approval in March 2011. This device is expected to act as the predicate for regulatory approval of future generations of Proxima devices, regulatory submissions which are expected to result in CE mark for the Generation 2 device in December 2011 and FDA approval 12 months later.
According to an earlier press release Sphere’s prinicipal route to commercialisation is expected to be mainly through partnership with market leading companies. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. invested nearly £2 million in 2010, Sorin Group Italia invested nearly £25o,ooo and have been working with Sphere on a continuous blood monitoring product for use in Cardiopulmonary surgery. Siemens Technology Accelerator GmbH (one of Sphere’s founders) retains a stake in the company and has participated in recent fund raisings.
Board Changes
In a further release Sphere has announced that Stephen Mahle and John Gregory have joined the Company’s Board as Non-Executive Directors. Mr Gregory has been appointed the senior Independent Director and will Chair the Audit Committee. Mr Mahle is the former Executive Vice President of Medtronic Inc, one of the world’s largest medical device companies, retiring in September 2009 after 37 years.
Mr Mahle joined Medtronic in 1972 and held numerous senior leadership positions with the company. For 17 years Mr Mahle led Medtronic’s largest division as President of the Pacing Business and subsequently as President of Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management.
Mr Gregory is a chartered accountant who for the last 17 years has concentrated on nonexecutive roles with young, fast-growing companies. Mr Gregory was chairman of IS Pharma plc through the merger with Sinclair Pharma plc, subsequently becoming non-executive chairman of the merged group until he relinquished this role following the successful integration of the companies in September 2011. Currently he is non-executive chairman of Foresight VCT plc, and a non-executive director of a number of private companies. In March
2011, Mr Gregory was named ‘AIM Non-Executive Director of the Year’ in the annual Peel Hunt and Sunday Times sponsored Non-Executive director Awards.
Previous non-executive directors, Mr Bob Pettigrew and Mr William Mason, have now stepped down from the board.
Source: Sphere Medical
