Apnoea app developer plans listing
A biotech company designing a mobile app to diagnose sleep apnoea is planning to backdoor list on the Australian Securities Exchange, with the co-backing of Perth-based capital firm.
Appian Medical, which is currently conducting a $2 million seed funding effort, is hoping to raise $5 million at 20� a share through the shell of Coronado Resources, a TSX-listed company that wants to join the local boards.
Appian has licensed the "Snoresounds" algorithm, which is being developed and tested by the University of Queensland, for the "accurate diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnoea".
The bid for listing is being co-backed by Nedlands-based Armada Capital.
The company said the commercial app for Snoresounds, which would allow a patient to diagnose themselves without attending a sleeping clinic, would be completed next year. Appian was founded by former iSonea managing director Michael Thomas, who stepped down from the role late last year. iSonea, which is backed by Perth money, was one of the best performing biotech stocks of 2013 before its shares dropped from 70¢ in November.
Although shareholders who invested at 7¢ a share this time last year are well-and-truly in the black, the company, which focuses on asthma management, is trading at 16.5¢ a share.
iSonea's recent fall comes as the sector suffered its second-straight month of negative growth.
Biotech analyst David Langsam, who calculates an index of the Australian biotech sector, said the value of biotech stocks fell 17.1 per cent in April - its lowest level since October 2010.
