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We are pleased to announce that Nestmedic SA has concluded an agreement with the National Center for Research and Development on co-financing the development of the new generation of the Pregnabit system. The Company is to receive close to PLN 5m. The funds will enable us to continue a stable implementation of the development plans of our product in order to finally roll it out on the market. An Agreement on Co-financing of the Project: The agreement on co-financing the Project called “PREGNABIT, a New Generation Telemedical System for Monitoring Fetal Well-being” was made under Measure 1.1 of the Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014-2020 and will be co-financed from the European Fund of Regional Development. The total net value of the project: PLN6,932,005.98; the co-financing value: PLN4,958,888.98 The period of eligibility of costs will start on June 1, 2017, and end on the day of submitting an application for the final payment, i.e. June 30, 2020. – The co-financing to be received under the Smart Growth operational program gives the Company financial comfort when carrying out the R&D works. The development and technological objectives for our product are well-defined. So is the implementation schedule. Thanks to our financial stability, we can work without hindrance on the Pregnabit system, innovating it, which is to let us outperform the competition, says Romuald Harwas, a Board member and the CFO of Nestmedic SA. The Company was granted the financing in June this year. Since then, we have managed to start work on a new generation of the device and built up our R&D department, hiring highly qualified specialists. The new features of the Pregnabit system will be introduced incrementally over a period of another three years. The end product of the project will be a new generation device fully integrated with the Internet platform and the mobile application. Part of the funds in the program are to be used for clinical trials. – Since January this year, we have been making the Pregnabit system available to patients underthe beta tests and pilot programs carried out in well-known medical centers. We listen in to pregnant women’s feedback, thanks to which we already know what new, looked-forward-to functionalities will be included in the new version of the device. We are going to support not only mothers but also the operations of the Telemonitoring Medical Center. We will focus on improving sophisticated algorithms, which, among other things, will enable us to make the test results and real-time feedback more objective, explains Anna Skotny, MD PhD, the General Manager of Nestmedic SA. Approved by the European Commission, the Smart Growth program is to support scientific research, development of new, innovative technologies and helping small and medium-sized enterprises raise their competitiveness. Its main aim is to encourage the innovativeness of Polish economy by increasing allocation of funds on R&D by private entities and creating corporate demand for innovation and R&D.   Nestmedic SA was established in 2014. Within a dozen or so months, a team of highly qualified specialist, including scientists, physicians, technology experts and marketers, succeeded in creating a product which is a world-class innovation: a teleCTG telemedic system, one of the most sophisticated ones in terms of diagnostic accuracy and technological advancement to wireless monitor and analyze CTG test results in the third trimester of pregnancy. The uniqueness of the solution is based on combining Pregnabit, a professional certified teleCTG device with the 24/7 Telemonitoring Medical Center (TMC). The idea of this solution was proposed by Patrycja Wizińska-Socha, MD, PhD, and Anna Skotny, MD, PhD. The Company is listed on NewConnect

In the last week of August, in one of Kenyan hospitals, we carried out the first teleCTG test with Pregnabit in Africa. The successful result of the test proves that the system is technologically ready to be rolled out on foreign markets, also beyond the EU.

The CTG test performed with Pregnabit was carried out in a hospital in Samburu Country, Kenya. The CTG test reading was sent out from there to the Polish Telemonitoring Medical Center, localized over 6,000 kilometers away. It took only 4 minutes for the Kenyan doctor to receive information on the test result.

– We are looking for new market opportunities and responding to them. In August, we embraced the challenge of testing the teleCTG Pregnabit in Africa. Successful tests are a signal that the system woks well, no matter in what geography or local infrastructure, says Patrycja Wizińska-Socha, MD PhD, the CEO of Board of Directors Nestmedic.

In Kenya, where the system was tested, yearly 1.5m children are born, with 65% of them in hospitals. It is expected that annual rate of growth of the health care industry in Kenya will reach 10.8%, which will translate into USD 3.1b in 2019. At present it is quite difficult to get access to cardiotocography in Kenya: due to lack of equipment and qualified staff. The possibility of quick implementation of new telemedical solutions, which has been proven in tests, gives hope for a genuine improvement in the situation of Kenyan pregnant women and physicians’ effectiveness, and also an opportunity for manufacturers of medical equipment to expand on a very unsaturated market.

Conducting tests in Kenya, we also took the opportunity to present the device to members of the Young Medicine Managers team. These are specialists from different sectors, who focus on improving the health care system in Poland and will undoubtedly have influence on the shape of Polish health care.

– With our global expansion plans, the relationships that we are building now can be the first step to make Nestmedic one of the leaders of telemedicine development both in Poland as well as in other geographies, adds Patrycja Wizińska-Socha.

Despite the fact that now we are focusing on the European markets, selling Pregnabit globally is of strategic importance to us. Today, we building a network of sales representatives across the country and is involved in advanced talks with resellers from abroad.

On September 15, part of an open-door day organized by Medfemina Health Center based in Wrocław, the Pregnabit team presented their innovative teleCTG system. On that day, the center was visited by many women, both their patients as well as people interested in its activities. The Pregnabit presentation was seen by approximately 100 people. The device and the telemedical service that comes in the package attracted a lot of attention. Understandably, among pregnant women in particular. The Pregnabit system has been available in Medfemina for a couple of weeks. We hope that this first-hand experience with the way the device works and the scope of services offered by the Telemonitoring Medical Center as well as user-friendliness of the device will make it easier for both the clinicians and patients to use the device, also in their homes.