US medical instruments giant Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) has lent its considerable backing to non-invasive pre-natal screening specialist Premaitha Health (LON:NIPT).
The US company has obviously been impressed by Premaitha's IONA test, which runs on Thermo Fisher's two sequencing instruments, the Ion Proton and Ion Chef, and has agreed to invest £5mln in Premaitha in the form of a secured loan facility.
The interest rate on the loan is 6% a year, with the possibility of deferring payment and adding to the loan capital.
The loan is repayable at some point up to a year from 14 December, 2022, though could be repaid earlier, Premaitha told investors.
Premaitha will issue warrants to Thermo Fisher that convert into 20.33mln shares at an exercise price of 24.6p; Premaitha's shares currently trade at 19.78p.
The funds from the loan facility will enable Premaitha to offer enhanced commercial solutions to clinical laboratories across Europe and other international territories.
Speaking to Proactive Investors Dr Stephen Little, Premaitha's chief executive officer, said the investment was an endorsement of Premaitha's systems and strategy, and would open a lot of doors for the company.
“It shows them we are not alone. Thermo Fisher is a very broad company in life sciences,” Dr Little said.
The announcement accompanies half-year results from Premaitha that showed sales of the IONA test picking up.
Revenues in the six months to the end of September rose to £624,988 from £83,506 n the seven [sic] months to 30 September 2014.
As is common for early stage companies, Premaitha is loss-making; the loss before tax narrowed to £4.42mln from £4.37mln the year before.
“We have a good pipeline of prospects and we are confident that we will continue to build our revenues throughout the forthcoming period,” Dr Stephen Little told investors, adding in his interview with Proactive Investors that prospects look brighter still after the backing from Thermo Fisher.