- Foundation laid for future growth in fiscal 2020
- Acceptance of CRP apheresis increased and collaboration with clinical centers expanded in first half of 2021
- New market segment Covid-19 reinforces positive outlook
Hennigsdorf, Germany, July 28, 2021 - Pentracor GmbH, a medical technology company based in Hennigsdorf near Berlin, Germany, has published its 2020 financial statements. The fiscal year was marked by the roll-out of the PentraSorb® CRP medical product developed and certified by the company, as well as the initiation and execution of clinical studies to increase acceptance for CRP apheresis in the treatment of diseases associated with acute inflammation such as myocardial infarction. The foundation for expansion was laid by Pentracor's successful 2020 bond offering, in which it raised fresh capital to continue funding. The five-year corporate bond (ISIN: DE000A289XB9, WKN: A289XB) with an annual interest rate of 8.50% and a possible conversion right has been listed on the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since May 29, 2020 and is tradable with a denomination of EUR 1,000.
Business development in 2020 was hampered by the effects of the Corona pandemic. For example, hospital staff could not be trained as required in the use of CRP apheresis due to the high utilization of intensive care units, many hospitals also pursued a restrictive purchasing policy, customer visits to hospitals and medical congresses with presentations by the company were cancelled, and in addition, the number of heart attack patients fell by up to 40% last year during the lockdowns. However, the market environment is now increasingly brightening again in the current fiscal year 2021.
According to preliminary figures, the company expects sales revenues of around EUR 0.6 million in the first half of 2021 (full year 2020: EUR 0.3 million). The cooperation with renowned clinics in Germany and Austria was already expanded to 16 partnerships in the first six months. In addition to the Charité Berlin, the applying clinics include, for example, the University Hospital Essen and the Heart Center Dresden. A continuously updated list of partner clinics can be found in the following link: https://www.pentracor.de/en/crp-apheresis/anwendende-kliniken/.
Wide range of applications in the growing healthcare market
In the current year, the company has also succeeded in entering the Covid-19 market segment. Here, promising treatment successes have been achieved in patients with severe disease courses using CRP apheresis. Among others, Berlin's Havelhöhe Community Hospital and the Immenstadt and Kempten hospitals are already using the extracorporeal treatment method for Covid-19 patients. Since the medical community assumes that the Corona virus and other mutants will continue to exist, Pentracor has a good chance of establishing CRP apheresis as a therapy for Covid-19.
PentraSorb® CRP unterliegt keinen Anwendungseinschränkungen für spezifische Krankheitsbilder, wie es hingegen bei Medikamenten für jedes einzelne Anwendungsgebiet unabdingbar ist. Insgesamt agiert die Pentracor GmbH derzeit in zehn potenziellen Behandlungsfeldern für das weltweit einzige Verfahren zur sofortigen
Reduzierung des gewebeschädlichen Proteins CRP im Blut. Neben Covid-19 zählen hierzu Bypass-OPs, Pankreatitis, Morbus Crohn, Schlaganfall, STEMI, Rheuma, Globale Cerebrale Ischämie, Sepsis und Colitis Ulcerosa. Zur Dokumentation der Wirksamkeit der CRP-Apherese wurden für fünf der zehn Marktsegmente bereits Studien
eingeführt und Register mit individuellen Patientendaten über den Krankheits- bzw. Genesungsverlauf angemeldet. Darüber hinaus treibt die Gesellschaft den Produktionsausbau im laufenden Geschäftsjahr weiter voran.
Pentracor GmbH is receiving backing from leading figures in the medical scene. For example, the renowned cardiologist and intensive care physician Professor Karl Werdan confirms the findings of the CAMI-1 study initiated by Pentracor that CRP is a harmful molecule and that CRP apheresis can reduce the damage after a heart attack, and points to further areas of application such as cardiogenic shock or sepsis. The publication of the corresponding study and further publications in important medical journals as well as the general increase in media coverage strengthen the awareness and acceptance of the treatment options using CRP apheresis by Pentracor. Currently, another larger randomized study on CRP apheresis therapy after myocardial infarction is being conducted at the Medical University of Innsbruck.
Dr. Ahmed Sheriff, CEO of Pentracor GmbH: "The well-documented efficacy of CRP apheresis combined with the increasing awareness and acceptance in the medical community are key to our business success. In the meantime, we are observing an increasing pull effect - clinics are approaching us and actively requesting information on the diverse treatment options of our CRP apheresis." Due to its outstanding research, Pentracor GmbH was also nominated as one of 12 companies for the Brandenburg 2021 Future Prize. The winner of the state's most important business award will be chosen in the final in Berlin on November 12th.
For the full year 2021, the company expects sales revenues of around EUR 2.0 million. The published annual financial statements for 2020 can be accessed at https://www.pentracor.de/finanzpublikationen/. The half-year financial statements 2021 will be published in October.
About the Pentracor GmbH
Pentracor GmbH, a spin-off from the university environment, was founded in 2010. With the solution PentraSorb® CRP, a completely new therapeutic, extracorporeal treatment method is offered with a unique selling proposition to sustainably contain progressive internal tissue damage in patients after acute events such as myocardial infarction or stroke. By filtering the blood plasma outside the body, the so-called C-Reactive Protein (CRP), which causes tissue damage, is selectively removed. Pentracor has extensive and patent-protected know-how regarding the use and production of the adsorber PentraSorb® CRP. Apheresis with Pentracor's medical device PentraSorb® CRP is the only therapy available worldwide that can selectively lower CRP levels in the body, resulting in better treatment outcomes for acute events such as heart attacks. PentraSorb® CRP has been fully approved as a CE-certified medical device since 2014 and has been reimbursed by all health insurance companies in Germany by means of an additional charge since November 2018.
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