Fresh off US success, LBT moves on Europe

Fresh off its first sale in the US and positive results from a John Hopkins School of Medicine study, LBT Innovations (ASX:LBT) shares are set to rise again following a European marketing deal.

The Adelaide company makes automated microbiology products.

The stock is currently in a trading halt ahead of a capital raising announcement.

The Europe deal with Beckman Coulter, one of the largest clinical diagnostics companies in the world, was signed for the second product, the Automated Plate Assessment System (APAS) Independence.

APAS Independence is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved AI system for automated imaging, analysis and interpretation of culture plates following incubation.

The first product was an automated culture plate streaking process (a technique used to isolate a pure strain from a single microorganism).

LBT owns 50 per cent of the joint venture company, Clever Culture Systems (CCS), which is commercialising the APAS Independence.

The deal

The Beckman Coulter deal is initially for three years for Germany, the UK and France.

Beckman Coulter will promote the APAS Independence in its suite of lab automation solutions and introduce CCS to potential buyers. Beckman Coulter will receive a referral fee for every sale.

A soft launch will be held later this year.

“This represents a significant step forward in our commercialisation strategy for the technology, adding the scale and strength of the Beckman Coulter brand to support our sales efforts in the region,” LBT CEO Brent Barnes said.

“Beckman Coulter have over 11,000 associates around the globe and they have a leading market share in Europe.”

Since 2019, CCS says it has identified an estimated addressable market of 340 target customers in Germany and the UK for the APAS Independence, while Beckman Coulter can open a door into France.

John Hopkins seal of approval

At the end of June LBT shares spiked after the John Hopkins School of Medicine released results from a clinical evaluation of the APAS Independence to detect the presence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.

The three month study used 4603 samples and compared the APAS Independence with the current standard of manual plate reading. It showed the LBT device was accurately able to detect MRSA and identify samples missed by the human eyes.

Earlier in June, CCS sold its first unit in the US, to the Hennepin County Medical Center.

In other ASX health news:

Healthcare software provider Global Health (ASX:GLH) signed Peninsula Health, one of Victoria’s largest community healthcare providers, on a three year contract, with the first year of services and licensing revenue totalling $725,000.

The stock surged by 81 per cent to 38c in early trade before falling back.

The tiny $16m company caught investors’ eyes at the tail end of June when the stock began moving after it landed a $340,000 contract with Ballarat Community Health.

Until early June the stock had been largely tracking sideways for the 12 months prior.

The company attributes an increase in its products to the rapid demand for digital health options following the initial COVID-19 lockdowns.

Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC), a company which is commercialising a radioactive gas that allows better imaging of the lungs, expects sales revenue for the six months to June 30 of approximately $5.6m, compared to $6.5m in the previous half.

Revenue for the period was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, as orders for France were deferred. The company says it’s well funded for an imminent launch into the US, however.