REG - Braveheart Inv Group - Investment update - Paraytec Limited

Braveheart InvestmentAnnouncement

15/12/2023 11:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20231215:nRSO0071Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 0071X  Braveheart Investment Group plc  15 December 2023

15 December 2023

 

Braveheart Investment Group plc

("Braveheart" or the "Company")

 

Investment update - Paraytec Limited

 

Braveheart Investment Group (AIM: BRH), announces an update on a company
within its investment portfolio, Paraytec Limited ("Paraytec"). Paraytec
develops high performance specialist detectors for the analytical and life
sciences instrumentation markets.

 

As previously reported, Paraytec is working on the development of the CX300
instrument to assist in the rapid diagnosis and treatment of bacteraemia, the
presence of bacteria in the blood, which is found in the majority of patients
with sepsis.

 

Bacteria are categorised into gram-positive or gram-negative types.
Antibiotics used to kill the bacteria broadly fall into three categories:
those targeting gram-positive bacteria; those targeting gram-negative
bacteria; or broad-spectrum antibiotics which are able to kill both
gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Prescribing broad-spectrum
antibiotics is not preferred due to the risk of antibiotic resistance, the
disruption of normal microbial flora, increased susceptibility to
superinfections, higher cost, unnecessary treatment and the selective pressure
that contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance. The use of targeted
antibiotics is much preferred, which by necessity requires analysis of the
bacteria.

 

The current gold standard for detecting the gram status of bacteria is the
gram stain test. This test requires a blood sample to be cultured for 24 to 48
hours to grow sufficient bacteria for the gram stain test to be applied.
Therefore, the minimum time required to complete the test is 24 hours.

 

Paraytec has confirmed that the CX300 instrument can detect and discriminate
gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in a sample from human blood in
approximately 90 minutes.

 

Professor Carl Smythe, from the University of Sheffield's School of
Bioscience, who led the work with Paraytec, said: "The Paraytec test has been
shown to be highly effective in distinguishing between gram-positive and
gram-negative bacteria. The test currently takes approximately 90 minutes to
provide a test result from receiving a sample and does not require
time-consuming blood culture. This is a significant achievement and a
point-of-care instrument using this technology could provide diagnosing
clinicians with a rapid indication of which antibiotic type to prescribe, as
well as the likely location of infection and degree of virulence.

 

"Our work indicates that labelling and separation protocols, for a target
bacteria or virus type, can be developed relatively quickly, and the CX300
instrument with ParaySelect™ can be used to rapidly detect and quantify
their presence. We consider this platform technology to have wide application
in both diagnostic and research applications."

 

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, commented: "Sepsis
is a life-threatening condition arising when the body's response to infection
causes organ damage: in the UK alone sepsis claims an estimated 48,000 lives
annually and globally is responsible for one in five lives lost. These quanta
are likely to rise even further as the spectre of antimicrobial resistance
grows. Technology which can identify pathogens rapidly has the potential to
directly influence prescribing, saving individual lives and delivering robust
antimicrobial stewardship. However, currently available multiarray panels are
prohibitively expensive for large-scale adoption. Key to Paraytec's approach
is delivering the information that the frontline prescriber needs most
urgently: rapidly distinguishing between gram-positive and gram-negative
bacteraemia will help target antibiotics and guide the search for the source
of infection."

 

The Directors of Paraytec believe this instrument could revolutionise the
treatment of sepsis and lead to the saving of many lives, as well as playing
an important role in reducing antimicrobial resistance. Paraytec will seek
global partners to take a point-of-care instrument to the market.

 

Braveheart holds a 100% equity interest in Paraytec. In addition, it has
provided unsecured interest free loans to Paraytec totalling £1,255,200 as at
30 September 2023. The Board of Braveheart believes that it is in the best
interests of the Company's shareholders to seek a cash buyer for this
investment,  and the Company has engaged an M&A specialist to market
Paraytec in order to seek potential acquirers for the business, products and
technology portfolio.

 

For further information:

 

 Braveheart Investment Group plc                                Tel: 01738 587555
 Trevor Brown CEO

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)   Tel: 020 3328 5656
 James Reeve / George Payne

 Peterhouse Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                      Tel: 020 7469 0936
 Duncan Vasey / Lucy Williams

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  PFUBBBDDGSBDGXU