SG-based Medical Tech Firm Biolidics Raising $2.2m From Share Placement

Singapore-based medical technology firm Biolidics Limited plans to raise S$3.13 million ($2.2 million) from a share placement exercise to fuel its business expansion and pursue new opportunities, according to a company statement.

The cancer diagnostic solutions-focused company said it planned to issue 17,858,000 new ordinary shares at an issue price of S$0.175 per share, which represents a discount of approximately 7.3 per cent to its volume-weighted average of S$0.188 per share, for all trades done on Catalist on March 13.

The company has an issued and paid-up share capital of 242.5 million shares. The placement will increase the issued and paid-up share capital to 260.358 million shares.

Biolidics said proceeds from the placement would be used for expansion of the company’s businesses through investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations with third parties, and general working capital purposes.

“The directors are of the view that the placement is beneficial to the group as it will increase resources and working capital available to the company as to pursue acquisition and/or business opportunities and improve cash flow,” Biolidics said.

Incorporated in 2009, the Singapore-based medical technology company focuses on the development of cell enrichment systems that can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, and monitoring.

The company has developed and commercialised ClearCell FX1 System, a fully automated medical device that relies on a novel patented technology to separate and enrich cancer cells from the blood.

Biolidics Limited’s share placement exercise comes as the global in-vitro diagnostics market was valued at $61.22 billion in 2018 and is predicted to reach $87.11 billion by 2026, according to a study conducted by Fortune Business Insights.

The company said it aims to scale up its presence in markets that it operates in, expand into new market segments, and establish new sales channels, aligning itself with the growing demand for minimally invasive procedures in cancer diagnostics.

Last month, Biolidics announced that it would develop its proprietary cancer diagnostics solutions in China with the target of obtaining the clinical validation in the second half of 2020.