Israeli communications and medical devices company BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (LSE: BVC) has announced an agreement to raise $30 million for Ador Diagnostics, a medical diagnosis laboratories venture. In the first stage $14.5 million will be raised for the venture by March 2019. The rest of the amount will be raised at a 33% higher valuation by the end of 2020, providing that professional milestones are achieved.
Ador, which will be split off into a separate company, will use the money, raised from external investors, to commercialize the products it develops. BATM's share price rose 4% on the day of the announcement, pushing its market cap up to £189 million ($246 million). The company's share price has climbed 80% since the beginning of the year.
The investors in the financing round are US medical industry companies and Puma Brandenburg Investments.
BATM itself and its partner in Ador, Gamida for Life, a diagnostics company with a historical connection to Gamida Cell (Nasdaq: GMDA) will invest $4 million. Before the financing round, the two companies each owned 50% of Ador's shares, but have now been diluted to 38% each (the company value of Ador in the round was $44.5 million).
Ador is developing a new device for laboratory tests designed to make tests easier and quicker. The compact device is designed for doctors' and nurses' clinics, in contrast to the huge devices in central laboratories, to which most samples are currently sent, thereby delaying the results.
The product is currently in the final stages of development before the beginning of a trial in US and European hospitals scheduled this year in the hope of obtaining approval for the product in 2020 and beginning commercialization. The milestones for obtaining the additional investment by the end of 2020 are proof of feasibility on 100 patients, marketing approval in Europe, installation of the product at five leading hospitals, including at least one in the US, etc.
Communications, cyber security, and medical devices
Dr. Zvi Marom founded BATM as a communications company. It later expanded into the medical field in order to spread its risks following changes in the mobile communications market that challenged its core activity. At the same time, it also began activity in cyber security as part of its communications activity. BATM's revenue is now almost evenly divided between communications and medical activity. In the first half of 2018, the company posted $58 million in revenue, 17% more than in the first half of 2017, and lost $1.9 million in the first half of 2018, compared with $2.9 million in the first half of 2017. BATM formerly had dual listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), but is now listed only on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
BATM's medical activity consists mainly of developing and marketing devices for automation of laboratory tests. In recent years, the company has marketed both the tests and the laboratory services. It also has smaller but rapidly growing activity in treatment of garbage in hospitals.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 24, 2019
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