Acquisition of Torax Biosciences
This announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the UK version of the Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 which is part of English law by virtue of the European (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. On publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is considered to be in the public domain and such persons shall therefore cease to be in possession of inside information.
LONDON: February 17, 2023
EDX Medical Group Plc
EDX Medical Group Plc announces acquisition of Torax Biosciences Ltd.
EDX Medical Group plc (“EDX Medical” or the “Company”), which develops innovative digital diagnostic products and services for cancer, heart disease, neurology and infectious disease testing, today announces that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Torax Biosciences Ltd. (“Torax”), (the “Acquisition”) (together, the “Enlarged Group”) by the issue of 1,666,667 new Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company at a deemed price of £0.06 per share.
Torax is a research company providing product development and pilot scale fabrication of immunochemistry-based assays and diagnostic testing solutions.
Torax is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDX Medical and will provide an experienced point-of-care diagnostics technical team with proven skills in innovation and new product development. Torax will also provide additional laboratory capacity in Northern Ireland in support of EDX Medical’s established laboratories in Cambridge.
The Torax laboratory operates under ISO 9001 and ISO-13485 accredited quality systems for IVD product design, development, manufacture and commercialisation. Torax’s expertise and facilities complement the EDX Medical laboratory PCR and genomic sequencing tests which are provided under ISO 15189. The quality systems of the combined group will provide assurance for both point-of-care and laboratory test solutions delivered by EDX Medical Group Plc.
Torax was founded by and is led by Dr Lawrence McGrath, who joins EDX Medical as a Senior Development Scientist and will continue to lead Torax where he will be joined by Dr Mike Hudson, EDX CEO as co-director of Torax as an EDX Medical subsidiary.
Dr McGrath is a recognised expert in the field of diagnostic and immune-chemistry, graduating with an MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from The Queen’s University of Belfast. Dr McGrath established Torax following a career as a biomedical scientist in Belfast City Hospital, Head of the Medical Technology Institute in Oman and as Senior Research Officer in the School of Medicine at The Queen’s University of Belfast. He has published extensively in the fields of oxidative stress and vascular chemistry, Alzheimer’s Disease and immunochemistry. Dr McGrath served in the Royal Army Medical Reserves Services retiring as Lt Col. during which time he was deployed to Kosovo as a field Biomedical Scientist and to Iraq with the Medical Support Regiment.
Professor Sir Chris Evans, Founder of EDX Medical, said: “We are delighted to announce this strategic acquisition of Torax which will add further strength and depth to EDX Medical’s innovation and product development capabilities. This enables us to provide an even wider range of testing solutions and data analysis. The Torax knowledge and capabilities in immunochemistry will accelerate our development of robust and innovative tests for cancer and other significant diseases.”
Dr Mike Hudson, chief executive officer of EDX Medical, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr McGrath and his team to our group. They are a highly experienced development team with an excellent reputation and I am sure they will play a key role in the development of the EDX Medical business.”
Dr Lawrence McGrath, CEO of Torax, said: “We have a great deal in terms of product design and innovation and we are now able to move our company to a new level as part of the EDX Medical group. This is an important step for us and we look forward to contributing further to this exciting clinical sector.”
Admission and total voting rights
Application will be made for the admission of the 1,666,667 new Ordinary Shares, to trading on the AQSE Growth Market ("Admission"), which is expected to become effective and trading commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 21 February 2023. The new Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares.
The Company's enlarged issued share capital following Admission will comprise 250,833,333 Ordinary Shares each with voting rights. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. This figure of 250,833,333 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.
For more information, please contact:
EDX Medical PLC
Mike Hudson
Tel: 07812345301
Peterhouse:
Guy Miller
Tel: 020 7220 9795
Media House International,
Ramsay Smith
Tel: +44 (0) 7788 414856:
email: ramsay@mediahouse.co.uk
Notes for Editors:
About EDX Medical Group
EDX Medical develops and delivers innovative digital diagnostic products and services for cancer, heart disease, neurology and infectious disease testing, helping to predict disease risk, inform clinical decision-making and accelerate the development of new medicines. The company is listed on the Access Segment of the AQSE Growth Market (TIDM: EDX).
EDX Medical was founded by Professor Sir Christopher Evans, OBE, a medical and life sciences entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the sector, specialising in cancer treatments and diagnostics.
By translating clinical insights into pragmatic solutions combining advanced biological and digital technologies, EDX Medical seeks to cost-effectively improve the detection of disease risk and personalise disease management in a timely fashion. Early disease detection and risk prediction is the most impactful way of reducing deaths and lowering the future costs of healthcare provision globally.
EDX Medical operates a molecular biology and diagnostics laboratory in Cambridge, UK, from which it performs research & development (R&D), provides testing and genomic sequencing services, undertakes quality assurance and has established expertise in the design, development, validation and sourcing of diagnostic testing solutions. Key tests performed in this laboratory have been audited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and accredited to ISO 15189.
https://www.toraxbiosciences.co.uk/
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