Mauna Kea Technologies Reports H1 2023 Financial Results

Strong H1 sales growth (+101%) and significant reduction in current operating loss (-78%)

Generated YTD net profit, supported by contribution from the Tasly J.V.

Continued demonstration that strategy pivot is benefiting financial performance

Building pipeline of new partnership opportunities

 

Paris and Boston, September 28, 2023 – 8:00 am CEST – Mauna Kea Technologies (Euronext Growth: ALMKT) inventor of Cellvizio^®, the multidisciplinary probe and needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (p/nCLE) platform, today announces its financial results for the first half 2023, ended June 30, 2023, as approved by the Board of Directors on September 27, 2023.

H1 2023 Highlights

• Total H1 sales up +101% at €6.8m driven by U.S. growth and revenue from the Tasly J.V. 
• Current operating income up +€3.8m and operating loss reduced by 78% 
• Positive operating income of €6.6m thanks to IP transfer to the Tasly J.V.
• Cash and cash equivalents at €6.3m as of June 30, 2023, up €3.1m from December 31, 2022
• Leadership upgrades and increased sales force efficiency producing sustained momentum in U.S. direct sales
• Accelerating implementation of the Tasly J.V., including onboarding of new sales and marketing resources in China
• Ongoing investments in Cellvizio platform, notably in A.I.
• Building pipeline of new opportunities to monetize existing IP portfolio through additional partnerships

Sacha Loiseau, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Mauna Kea Technologies, commented: “I am very encouraged by the overall momentum achieved by the Group since our strategic repositioning. Not only have sales nearly doubled over the period, but the discipline of our organization has also produced a meaningful reduction of operating losses while increasing the global addressable market for Cellvizio. More importantly, we are now seeing the initial financial benefits of our partnership with Tasly Pharmaceutical and expecting a ramp-up in our commercial operations thanks to our Joint Venture that will increasingly contribute to Mauna Kea’s reported sales. In parallel, we have accelerated our product development investments, particularly in A.I., to both increase the clinical benefit of Cellvizio for patients and enhance our value proposition to current and future strategic partners. Finally, I have growing confidence in the capabilities of our team and the market opportunity for our technology.”

Highlights of activity update for the first half 2023

• COMPANION STUDY WITH THE MONARCH™ PLATFORM BY JOHNSON & JOHNSON MEDTECH: A new clinical study published in the peer-reviewed journal Respirology¹ provided further robust evidence that the combination of needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) with the Monarch™ Platform could be used for tool-in-lesion confirmation with an additional important criterion for granuloma detection, an essential capability for patients with suspected sarcoidosis; 

• COMPANION STUDY WITH THE ION® PLATFORM BY INTUITIVE: A new multi-site clinical study sponsored by Mayo Clinic is underway, combining nCLE and robotic-assisted bronchoscopy with the Ion platform from Intuitive Surgical. This study aims to improve the accuracy and speed of positioning biopsy tools in the center of peripheral lung nodules; 

• NEW INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) INSTALLATION: Cellvizio® has been installed at the University College Cork - APC Microbiome Ireland, a leading research center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Previous publications have demonstrated Cellvizio's effectiveness in visualizing intestinal barrier healing, a superior biomarker for IBD. This installation opens the door to using Cellvizio in the development of IBD therapies, a market valued at over $20 billion;

• CHINESE JOINT VENTURE COMPLETED AND FUNDED: The formal set-up of the J.V. with Tasly Pharmaceutical was finalized at the beginning of the year with the allocation of 44.1% of the J.V. shares to Mauna Kea Technologies against the transfer of certain intellectual property assets and licenses. Mauna Kea Technologies now owns assets of €13.6 million at 30 June 2023, corresponding to the valuation of its stake in the J.V. 
  
  Mauna Kea Technologies has also received a total of $9 million relating to the license agreement and technology transfer, and is expected to receive a further $1 million in the coming months according to milestones. During the semester, Tasly Pharmaceutical and Mauna Kea Technologies have worked jointly to quickly get the J.V. up and running by the end of the year, with the recruitment of key staff for the J.V. leadership as well as the sales and marketing teams. At Mauna Kea Technologies, a J.V. alliance manager has been recruited, and the transfer of the sales team to the J.V. is scheduled for the beginning of Q4 2023.