ASX announcement

“CLEVER CULTURE SYSTEMS APPOINTS THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC AS
EXCLUSIVE US APAS® DISTRIBUTOR”

 Key Points:
• Thermo Fisher appointed as the exclusive distributor for the APAS® Independence in the United States
• Thermo Fisher is a leading provider of instrumentation and consumables in the United States microbiology market - APAS® Independence complements their portfolio of clinical microbiology products
• Agreement has a five-year term, including service and support responsibilities

Quick thoughts:

On the surface this appears a positive for LBT technologies as Thermo Fischer are big distributors of microbiology products and you would assume the system could easily fit into their existing selling/distribution channels.

APAS (Automatic plate assessment system) potentially improves workflow and accuracy in testing and could reduce running expenses for labs.

A US distribution deal was flagged in May for this year, so management have ticked that box.

Watching

·       Thermo Fischer’s large size is both a positive and a negative. As a relatively new, low volume product, (no idea of margin) it is impossible to tell if the APAS system will get the attention it needs to grow adoption and sales.  (Tomorrow’s investor call may add some colour to that.)

·       Long lead times and a need to adapt/convert to new workflow practices may also be a barrier to sales uptake.

LBT were the first company to get FDA approval for AI plate assessment about 5 years ago. I felt that gave them a 1st mover advantage and a benchmark for any competition to meet.  As far as I know they are the only company with FDA approval for plate analysis, but it’s possible I’ve missed something.  I haven’t followed too closely over the past few years.

I bought a small speculative position in the last 6 months as they started getting some sales.

Held: spec position RL