Itamar Medical sees growth in sleep disorder, heart markets
30/09/2014 07:55
* Third quarter results to reflect three new sales deals
* Company raised $16.3 mln to boost R&D, commercialisation
By Ari Rabinovitch
CAESAREA, Israel, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Israel's Itamar
Medical ITMR.TA expects to end three years of sluggish growth
after signing three new sales agreements in the United States
and Japan, chief executive Gilad Glick said.
The company, which makes devices that test for sleep and
cardiovascular problems with a simple fingertip sensor, is also
benefiting from a growing awareness of sleep disorders, which is
a $3.5 billion market in the United States, Glick said.
"There is a lot of strategy on our part, but also a lot of
really good timing, almost on all fronts," Glick, who joined the
company as CEO last July, said in an interview with Reuters.
The company's devices gauge the health of nerves and blood
vessels in the fingers, which reflects performance in the rest
of the body. They diagnose breathing disturbances overnight and
can raise a red flag for risks of heart disease, he said.
The sleep monitor is worn at home on the wrist with a small
clamp extending to one finger. The larger cardiovascular system
must be used in a clinic and in January it received for the
first time a reimbursement code for U.S. insurers.
Itamar also boosted its cash reserves over the past half
year, raising $16.3 million from Israel's largest institutional
investors, to fund research, development and commercialisation.
Glick would not give a growth forecast, but he said the
majority of his personal compensation would only be paid if
Itamar grows at least 40 percent each year.
"I expect to sign two to three new sales deals each year,"
he said. "Another goal is to leverage our technology to produce
new applications in the near future."
On Tuesday Itamar unveiled a pediatric version of its home
sleep test, the first of its kind for infants and toddlers.
For the past three years the device maker's revenue hovered
around $3.5 million a quarter, Glick said, though it was on the
rise in the second quarter, growing 16 percent to $4.1 million.
Its adjusted loss narrowed to $1.6 million from $1.8 million.
The third quarter, he said, will be the first to reflect all
the new deals the company signed with U.S.-based Medtronic Inc
MDT.N , a Japanese unit of Philips PHG.AS and Nihon Kohden
6849.T , one of Japan's largest medical device manufacturers.
Glick also held out the possibility of a dual listing.
"We are considering a flotation on Nasdaq in the next few
years," he said.
(Editing by Tova Cohen)
((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com; +972-2-632-2202; Reuters
Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: ITAMAR MEDICAL/