RXB – Trading Update
16 March 2016: Link here. Rex Bionics Plc (AIM: RXB), the pioneer of the REX Robot technology that enhances the mobility of wheelchair users, is pleased to provide an update on trading since the Company’s Interim Results Statement, released on 8 December 2015.
The Directors re-iterate their sales guidance, provided in the Interim Statement, that REX unit sales will be higher in the second half of the year to 31 March 2016 than the three units sold in the first half year. Up to the present date, three REX units have been shipped and invoiced in the second half; and an order is in hand for a further REX scheduled for shipment before the end of March. The full year mix, including these second-half orders, is most likely to be three REX units sold in Asia, two or more in the US and the others in the UK and Australia.
The Board has recently reviewed the progress of the Company and the medium-term market opportunity and has concluded that the market for robotic mobility aids remains very attractive. According to a 2015 report by the independent research group WinterGreen Research, Inc, the market for robotic exoskeletons for medical applications is poised for significant growth, with global sales forecast to reach $2.1 billion by 2021, from $16.5 million in 2014.
In addition, feedback from initial demonstrations of the REX in the US is confirming the interest of the customers and the capability of REX’s marketing partner, EnableMe (formerly Ri Medical). In view of the requirement for capital and time to complete the demanding selling process, Rex Bionics will be focusing its commercial resources on the US market in the short-term. The appointment of Joe Cucolo to the Board, announced in January, reflects the Company’s increased focus on the US market, and the recent announcement of a new collaboration with the US Army to investigate the use of REX in an acute care setting provides further support for this strategy.
Rex Bionics will also continue to support the registration process in China, where an initial training program has recently been successfully completed.
While the US and China will be the Company’s main areas of focus, sales enquiries outside these territories will continue to be pursued. The Company also intends to build on the model, established in 2014, of working with independent neuro-rehabilitation clinics who are willing to promote the REX technology as part of their treatment protocols. This has worked well in the UK, and plans for similar arrangements in the UAE, Australia (in both Sydney and Melbourne) and New Zealand are at an advanced stage of development. Experience shows that where the REX is in use, the feedback is positive and therefore the availability of additional demonstration equipment, following progress with addressing production bottlenecks, is expected to provide a material contribution to sales momentum.
Following the first successful personal injury claim in the UK to include recovery of costs for a REX, the Company also plans to encourage awareness in its international markets of the benefits of personal injury insurance coverage for access to a REX by people with a recent spinal cord injury.
Recruitment in the RAPPER II clinical trial is progressing well. 31 volunteers have been recruited to date, and two new trial centres, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, UK and Austin Health’s Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne, Australia, have each recently treated their first volunteers. The involvement of some of the world’s leading neuro-rehabilitation clinics is a valuable endorsement of the REX technology. Following the announcement of positive results from an interim analysis of the first 20 volunteers in November 2015, a second interim analysis (40 volunteers) from the RAPPER II trial, which will include the first data showing the effect of treatment with REX on pain, sleep, spasm and overall health, remains on track for presentation around the middle of 2016.
Rex Bionics has, recently, focused its R&D resources on upgrades to its quality systems and is now in a position to implement plans designed to secure FDA approval for “Home Use” of REX and deliver a variety of product upgrade projects. Further details will be provided with the preliminary results for the year to March 2016 scheduled for release in July 2016.
Rex continues to attract valuable publicity, most recently on ITV’s “It’s not Rocket Science” program (23 February 2016), national newspaper and global on-line coverage of the UK personal injury award (3 February 2016), and TV news items in Florida (15 February 2016) and Michigan (18 November 2015) covering REX demonstrations. The Company is also well-placed to participate in the development of “Big Data” in the field of neurological injury and illness; and of thought-controlled robots, where the University of Melbourne’s Stentrode concept recently attracted world-wide publicity (9 February 2016).
Crispin Simon, Chief Executive, commented, “Most people who see a robotic exoskeleton immediately grasp its value and its potential to transform lives. We have delivered commercial sales, clinical evidence and new partnerships, and are especially pleased with the agreement we announced last week with the US Army. Our goal is to be the market leader in this exciting new technology.”
For further information please contact:
Rex Bionics Plc
Crispin Simon, Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0) 748 3 167851
Peter Worrall, Chief Financial Officer
+44 (0) 142 864 5416
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (NOMAD and Broker)
Jonathan Senior/Stewart Wallace
+44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Chris Welsh / Lindsey Neville
rexbionics@consilium-comms.com
+44 (0) 203 709 5700
About Rex Bionics plc
Rex Bionics (AIM: RXB) is the pioneer of the REX Robot that enhances the mobility of wheelchair users and was founded in Auckland, New Zealand by two robotics engineers with first-hand experience of wheelchair users and their needs.
Rex Bionics is working with physiotherapists to develop the concept and practice of Robot-Assisted Physiotherapy (RAP). In a session of RAP, REX lifts patients from a sitting position into a robot-supported standing position, allowing them to take part in a set of supported walking and stretching exercises, designed by specialist physiotherapists.
In addition, REX P, for use in the home, enables users to walk and stand with their hands free – providing more work and recreation options. Our vision is to commercialise an all-day use REX P for a target market segment of wheel chair users with a spinal cord injury, who number around 500,000 people in the US and EU alone.
Wheelchair users are at risk of developing numerous medical complications from extended periods of sitting. By enabling them to spend more time standing, walking and exercising, REX may offer significant health benefits, including improved sleep and maintenance of joint range, and a reduction in spasm, pain, common abdominal problems and prescription drug use.
A program of “RAPPER” clinical trials is now under way to evaluate these potential benefits and a positive interim analysis of the RAPPER II data was presented on 27th November 2015. Recruitment for RAPPER II remains open and clinics and individuals can send enquiries to rex@physiofunction.co.uk.
Until now, REX has most commonly been used by wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury, but has also been used by people who have suffered a stroke or other traumatic brain injury; and wheelchair users with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.
Rex Bionics has three Strategic Objectives – to establish Robot-Assisted Physiotherapy as a Gold Standard of Care for Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke and other neurological conditions; to establish REX as the market-leading robotic mobility aid; and by effective execution of our plans, to deliver significant value growth to shareholders.
Rex Bionics works with distribution partners in the US (customerservice@enableme.com), China (MAAB, alex.lou@maab-group.com), Hong Kong and Taiwan (Deltason, tommychan@deltason.com), Denmark and Belgium; and in other countries we support customers directly (debra.leeves@rexbionics.com).
Rex Bionics was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM in 2014. REX is not registered for At-Home use in the United States of America.