Craig Gulliford, chief executive of medical device specialists Creo Medical Group, has paid tribute to the business for making significant strategic and operational progress despite the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company’s total sales over the six months to June 30 equated to £12.9 million, including initial sales of Creo’s revolutionary Speedboat Inject endoscopic device in the US and Europe.
Creo Medical’s Speedboat Inject technology combines the benefits of bipolar radiofrequency and super high-frequency microwave energy to allow precise cutting in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract when removing obstructions. The product has been proven to save up to £10,000 per procedure compared to more traditional methods of surgery.
Gulliford also said that Creo had successfully expanded its clinical network and education of early adopters, while consolidating its commercial infrastructure and making further progress in R&D.
“Our focus on clinical education, both remotely and in-person, has led to more key opinion leaders being trained on the safe use of our products and more patients being successfully treated with our technology”, Gulliford said.
“We expect this positive trend to remain in H2 and into 2022 as the pandemic eases, with increasing clinician education, training sites, adoption and patient procedures using our technology.”
Gulliford continued: “The publication of further health economics data has underlined the potential of our Speedboat Inject technology to save costs for healthcare systems to a greater extent than first envisaged. The first patient to undergo a procedure using MicroBlate Fine has shown an excellent result, further validating the clinical use of that device.”
While Creo’s £12.9 million in sales was offset by an underlying £7.7 million loss from the investment into developing and commercialising products, the six-month period saw the business finish up with £30.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. This, according to Gulliford, leaves the business with sufficient funds to “service the rising demand we expect for all our products” and excel in the future.
He explained: “With the business ready to service the rising demand we expect for all our products and our strengthened balance sheet following the completion of the placing and open offer in September 2021 will allow us to deliver and develop our strategic objectives.
“We are very optimistic for the continued progress of the business throughout 2021 and into 2022.”
