1st May 2020

NWR Virtual Health Conference

LBT’s Managing director and CEO Mr Brent Barnes was invited to present at the NWR virtual health conference. The conference, hosted by NWR Communications, was held online and provided LBT the opportunity to present to both institutional and retail investors. In the current environment, with travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19, the virtual event provided a great platform for LBT to engage with existing shareholders and potential future investors from around Australia.

During the presentation, Mr Barnes said that one of the outcomes from the coronavirus pandemic will be a greater drive to deliver efficiencies in pathology, which is expected to drive a further push towards the implementation of automation solutions, such as the APAS® Independence, within the laboratory. The APAS® instrument is three times faster in assessing the results on agar plates compared to a microbiologist, delivering an attractive return on investment in two to three years.

The key markets for the company at this point are the US, UK Germany and Australia. However longer-term, the company expects to sell through multiple distributors. The company is in ongoing discussions with potential distributors with an instrument having been shipped to that company for testing. Mr Barnes is confident the first distributor will be appointed this year. The four countries currently being targeted have around 2,000 labs suited to the APAS® instrument. If the company can gain 20% market penetration, then it represents instrument sales of at least US$80 million, and an annual royalty of around US$12 million. Profits are shared through the joint venture that is selling the instrument, Clever Culture Systems, although LBT will receive a greater share of the software royalty in line with the investment it is making in analysis module development.

To date the module for assessing urine samples is approved in the US and Australia, while the MRSA analysis module is approved in Europe and Australia, and is pending FDA approval in the US. The company have additional analysis modules under development for Urine (in the EU), VRE (antibiotic resistant bacteria) and antibiotic suscpetibility testing.

To watch the presentation in full click the link below