NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – British molecular diagnostics firm Osmetech has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 5.5 million American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Each ADS represents 35 ordinary shares, which means the offering represents an aggregate of 192.5 million ordinary shares. The firm expects the American IPO to price between $7 and $9 per ADS.
Assuming a mid-range offering price of $8 per ADS, Osmetech expects to receive net proceeds of around $37.7 million. It plans to use roughly $20 million of those funds for the development of a broad menu of tests for its eSensor XT-8 System, with a focus on additional tests using biomarkers for detecting infectious diseases and cancer.
It also expects to spend around $5 million to make improvements to its molecular diagnostics platform, including improving sample prep on the system and possibly developing a smaller, point-of-care instrument. Other funds will be used to support sales and marketing initiatives, Osmetech said in its filing.
Osmetech’s revenues for the six-month period ended June 30 were £127,994 ($254,784), an increase of 83 percent over revenues of £70,061 for the comparable period of 2007. The firm held cash and cash equivalents of £6,676,043 ($13,289,332) as of June 30.
In July, Osmetech received US Food and Drug Administration clearance to sell its eSensor XT-8 System and related eSensor Warfarin Sensitivity Test. The company said that it expects “for the foreseeable future” that its warfarin test and a cystic fibrosis carrier detection test that runs on its eSensor4800 system will drive nearly all of its revenues.
London-based Osmetech currently trades on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.