Median Technologies records its best quarterly performance and joins forces with biopharmaceutical companies in the fight against Covid-19.

Sophia Antipolis, France – Median Technologies (ALMDT), The Imaging Phenomics Company®, provides an update on its performance for Q1 2020 and a review of its commitment to tackle Covid-19. 

Growth in Q1 revenue and order backlog (unaudited figures)

Revenue in the first quarter of 2020 stood at €2.8m, a 47% increase from €1.9m in Q1 2019. Business continued to grow steadily over six quarters. Company revenue was entirely generated by the iCRO business unit, which delivers solutions and services for medical image management in oncology clinical trials.

The order backlog[1] as of March 31, 2020 was €44.4m, compared with €38.3m as of December 31, 2019, an increase of €6.1m corresponding to €8.6m in order intake over the quarter. The first quarter of 2020 saw a sharp increase in Europe and China’s shares of the order backlog, with China now making up 46% versus 56% of as December 31, 2019.

As of March 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents were €3.8m. During the first quarter, the company experienced some delays in inflows for certain clinical trials, a consequence of the coronavirus health crisis: some advance payments for delayed trials were postponed, and some payments from China were delayed as well. This situation should be resolved once clinical trials gradually resume.  

Over the period, monthly cash expenditure totaled €1.2m. While this figure is high, it factors in payment delays, the traditionally higher external and internal costs of the first quarter (bonuses, fees, insurance, etc.), and the kick-off of the recruitment and investment plan for Median’s new generation imaging platform iBiopsy® after securing a €35m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in December 2019.

It should be noted that since the end of Q1, Median has received a first disbursement of €15m corresponding to the first tranche of the EIB loan (announced April 20, 2020). This will allow the Company to accelerate its investment program in the iBiopsy® platform.

Providing image management services for Covid-19 clinical trials

Median Technologies intends to provide its image processing expertise in clinical trials, to contribute to chest CT scan analysis in Covid-19 trials.

To date, over 350 clinical trials on Covid-19 vaccines and treatments have been registered[2]. Imaging is an essential tool to diagnose patients with Covid-19, monitor the disease and evaluate treatment efficacy, by quantifying the pulmonary fibrosis visible in chest CT Scans.

Median has started discussions with its biopharmaceutical clients in China, Europe and the United States to offer independent review of CT Scan images of Covid-19 patients. These services will enable patient stratification by objectively grading the severity of the disease, while evaluating the treatment efficacy based on the progression/regression of the pulmonary fibrosis.

Median Technologies is also discussing with potential partners for lung damages severity grading in clinical routine to determine patient prognosis.

 “We are satisfied with our growth in the first quarter, despite the global health and economic situation we are experiencing worldwide. We expect the Covid-19 crisis to have a moderate impact on Median in 2020”, said Fredrik Brag, CEO of Median.

“As for our efforts to tackle Covid-19, we are uniquely experienced in managing image protocols and projects in clinical trials and have a long-standing experience in chest CT scan analysis. These two factors allow us to take swift action in response to the biopharmaceutical industry’s request to establish Covid-19 imaging protocols”, Fredrik Brag added.

[1] Order backlog is the sum of orders received but not yet fulfilled. An increase or decrease in the order backlog corresponds to the order intake of the reporting period, net of invoiced services, completed or cancelled contracts, and currency impact for projects in foreign currency (re-evaluated at the exchange rate on closing date). Orders are booked once the customer confirms, in writing, its selection of the Company’s services for a given project. The contract is usually signed a few months following written confirmation.

[2] https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=SARS-CoV+Infection