31st May 2017 07:00
Amphion Innovations plc
("Amphion" or the "Company")
31 May 2017
Partner Company m2m Imaging merger update
· Amphion Partner Company, m2m Acquisition Inc, and Polarean Inc. to create Polarean Imaging Limited in a cash and share merger
· Polarean Imaging Limited announces the closing of its Pre-IPO financing
London and New York, 31 May 2017 - Amphion Innovations plc (AIM: AMP), the developer of medical, life science, and technology businesses, announces that Partner Company, m2m Acquisition Inc., and North Carolina-based Polarean Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement in a cash and share-based transaction to create Polarean Imaging Limited ("Polarean"), a newly incorporated company in England, UK (the "Merger"). In addition to the Merger, the Company announces that the placing pre-IPO fundraise of US $2 million is complete and the executed merger agreement now clears the path for the Merger to close.
Polarean is a clinical-stage company. The main technology is a drug-device combination product that enables the visualisation of hyperpolarised Xenon129 via magnetic resonance imaging technology with a particular application for the diagnosis of a number of pulmonary indications. It is currently being used at a number of research sites on a pre-Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") clearance basis to facilitate the research and evaluation of lung function, to assist in making improved disease progression assessment, and to clearly visualise the effectiveness of several therapeutics which are under development.
Polarean operates in an area of significant unmet medical need, and a number of key inflection points and milestones are expected to be achieved over the next 12 to 24 months. The most important inflection point will be the completion of the FDA Phase III Clinical Trial in the USA. The 80 patient non-inferiority trial (the "Trial") will take place at two leading US research hospitals. The Trial is expected to commence in the second half of 2017 and be completed approximately 18 months following.
There are currently eleven research institutions worldwide already utilising the Polarean system, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Duke University, the University of Oxford, the University of Nottingham, and the Fraunhofer Institute. There are presently 15 units installed at these leading research hospitals and the Company expects to sell additional units and consumables for research purposes during the course of the Phase III Clinical Trial.
Following the merger and pre-IPO raise, Amphion will hold approximately 26% of Polarean.
For further information please contact:
Amphion Innovations | Tel: +1 (212) 210 6224 | |||
Charlie Morgan |
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Panmure Gordon Limited (Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 2500 | |||
Freddy Crossley / Duncan Monteith (Corporate Finance) |
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Charlie Leigh-Pemberton (Corporate Broking) |
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Northland Capital Partners Limited (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 3861 6625 | |||
Patrick Claridge / David Hignell (Corporate Finance) |
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John Howes (Corporate Broking) |
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Polarean Imaging Limited | Mob: +646 568 7502 | |||
Richard Hullihen, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +1 440-463-6642 | |||
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The Life Sciences Division (Financial Advisors) | Tel: +44 (0) 203-457-1073 | |||
Alia Minhas | ||||
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Walbrook PR | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or | |||
Mike Wort/ Paul McManus | ||||
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About Amphion Innovations plc - www.amphionplc.com
Amphion Innovations is a developer of medical, life science and technology businesses. We use our extensive experience in company building to invest and build shareholder value in high growth companies in the US and UK. Amphion has significant shareholding in seven partner companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces. The Amphion model has been refined to optimise the commercialisation of patents and other intellectual property within the partner companies. The partner companies collectively own or control over 200 separately identified pieces of intellectual property, a number which grows rapidly each year.
About Polarean Imaging Limited
Polarean Imaging Limited (Polarean Inc was originally spun out of GE) has a patented and revenue generating technology being used in lung visualisation and lung function assessment, which for pulmonologists, and patients (e.g. asthma, COPD/bronchitis, cystic fibrosis), is one of the few areas not already impacted by MRI, PET, CT, X-ray imaging, each of which targets soft or hard anatomy. Polarean has taken a technology that uses standard Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and combined it with a hardware proprietary 'add-on' and a modified Noble Gas (hyperpolarized Xenon129) to create a highly accurate, safe (inert gas that is breathed in and then out) and real-time imaging tool to non-invasively visualise and map the lung ventilation revealing gas exchange at the alveolar level. Beyond the lung, there may be distinct applications in many other areas of the body including Neurological indications. Polarean operates a drug-device model selling a proprietary Xenon gas blend (the drug) and bespoke RF coils to create additional recurring revenues. The FDA has now granted Polarean permission to conduct a go to market Phase 3 Clinical Trial in 80 patients, which if successful (based on a non-inferiority criteria) would allow the company to file for approval in the area of pulmonary medicine.
Related Shares:
AMP.L