Saba Partners sign LOI for LIGHT system

RNS Number : 6976A

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC

03 June 2021

 

3 June 2021

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK Market Abuse Regulation. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC

("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")

Saba Partners sign letter of intent for proposed purchase of a three-treatment room LIGHT system

Follows agreements for LIGHT systems with The London Clinic, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and The Mediterranean Hospital of Limassol

Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment called LIGHT systems (LIGHT), today announces that it has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Saba Partners SA ("Saba Partners"), an investment advisory and asset management firm based in Geneva, for the proposed purchase of a three-treatment room LIGHT system from Advanced Oncotherapy for a total contract value of up to US$107 million (equivalent to c.£75.5 million). The contract value reflects the purchase of the LIGHT equipment, its installation and an extended long-term maintenance and warranty agreement. The system is proposed to be purchased by Saba Partners for installation in a proton therapy centre in Glion, Switzerland.

Saba Partners and their high net worth investors have decades of experience in healthcare services and healthcare real estate, having recently acquired a site in Glion, close to Montreux, Switzerland, where they plan to start building a medical centre of excellence.

This potential partnership follows the Company's announcement in January 2021 with DiaMedCare AG to offer its customers in Europe and the United States easier access to the Company's LIGHT system through a flexible financing solution that reduces the need for large initial upfront payments from customers. The Company intends to enter into an exclusivity agreement with Saba Partners for the provision of proton therapy services in the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC"). Under the agreement, Advanced Oncotherapy will benefit from Saba Partners' presence in the Saudi Arabian hospital sector in order to make the LIGHT system available to countries within the GCC region consisting of Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

The LOI is non-binding in nature. Both parties have agreed under the terms of the LOI to use their best efforts to finalise legal documentation and enter into a binding agreement by 31 March 2022. A condition of the LOI is Advanced Oncotherapy obtaining the applicable CE marking clearances. No payments will be made to the Company prior to the CE certification being in place. There can be no guarantee that a binding agreement will be entered into for the purchase of the LIGHT system by Saba Partners nor as to the final terms of any such binding agreement.

Further update announcements will be made by the Company as appropriate.

Abdullah Alghamdi of Saba Partners, said :

"Saba Partners look forward to finalising our agreement with Advanced Oncotherapy for a LIGHT system that would enable us to offer patients in Switzerland access to this revolutionary proton therapy technology. We are planning to build a centre of excellence for cancer treatment in Glion as the first step in building an ecosystem of medical centres, and the LIGHT system is a key element to this ambition. We share Advanced Oncotherapy's vision of democratising proton therapy through innovative technologies and look forward to the next phase, including the construction of the centre. Through our affiliates, we have a strong presence in the medical area in the GCC region, including in 12 locations totalling more than 500 hospital beds and 3,000 employees. This is an attractive platform to support the commercial roll-out of the LIGHT Systems in the region."

Nicolas Serandour, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Oncotherapy, said :

"We are pleased to announce this letter of intent for the proposed purchase of a three-treatment room LIGHT system with Saba Partners for their new medical centre in Glion. We also look forward to strengthening this relationship with Saba Partners over time to potentially make the LIGHT system available to countries within the Gulf region. Saba Partners' choice of Advanced Oncotherapy demonstrates our position to help medical providers meet a significant unmet medical need.

"Today's announcement represents another key milestone for Advanced Oncotherapy and demonstrates the significant potential market for the LIGHT system where we estimate that 4,000 proton therapy centres are required worldwide while only 95 facilities currently exist.

"As we move towards certification of our first commercial LIGHT system in Daresbury, we remain on track for the proton-accelerating units to accelerate protons to 230 MeV, the energy required for therapeutic applications, to occur later this year and we continue to progress the installation of the treatment room with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust."

- ENDS -

Notes for editors

Advanced Oncotherapy plc	www.avoplc.com
Dr. Michael Sinclair, Executive Chairman	Tel: [phone]
Nicolas Serandour, CEO
Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Nick Athanas / Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance) Amrit Nahal / Matt Butlin (Sales and Corporate Broking)	Tel: [phone]
SI Capital Ltd (Joint Broker)
Nick Emerson	Tel: [phone]
Jon Levinson	Tel: [phone]
FTI Consulting (Financial PR & IR)	[e-mail]
Simon Conway / Rob Winder	Tel: [phone]

About Saba Partners

Saba Partners advises family offices, financial institutions, funds and other investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") on acquiring and managing high quality real estate assets in Switzerland and France.

About Advanced Oncotherapy Plc

Advanced Oncotherapy, a UK headquartered company with offices in London, Geneva, The Netherlands and in the USA, is a provider of particle therapy with protons that harnesses the best in modern technology. Advanced Oncotherapy's team "ADAM," based in Geneva, focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator called, Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology (LIGHT). LIGHT's compact configuration delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates greater precision and electronic control.

Advanced Oncotherapy will offer healthcare providers affordable systems that will enable them to treat cancer with innovative technology as well as expected lower treatment-related side effects.

Advanced Oncotherapy continually monitors the market for any emerging improvements in delivering proton therapy and actively seeks working relationships with providers of these innovative technologies. Through these relationships, the Company will remain the prime provider of an innovative and cost-effective system for particle therapy with protons.

 

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