Avita appoints new distributor, sells respiratory business

Regenerative medicine company Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) last week announced the appointment of MSM Medical as its newest European distributor.

The agreement will cover the exclusive distribution of Avita’s full product range in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Avita will meanwhile support MSM Medical with publicity and clinical platforms, as well as a focused training program.

Avita Medical said it believes its regenerative medicine technology ReCell, which enables a clinician to rapidly create Regenerative Epithelial Suspension (RES) by using a small sample of the patient’s skin, fits well within MSM Medical’s portfolio of wound care products.

“When choosing a distributor, we must have comfort that they are able to effectively demonstrate to medical professionals how ReCell can be deployed to benefit patients,” said Avita Medical CEO Adam Kelliher. “We quickly saw that MSM Medical have the appropriate expertise and well-proven capabilities in supporting the sales of medical device products in the German-language wound care market.”

The news follows Avita’s announcement earlier this month that it has completed the sale of its respiratory business to healthcare company Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) for $2.47m. The business included two products, Breath-A-Tech and Funhaler, which are both asthma spacers aimed at optimising the use of medicinal puffers.

Kelliher said the sale of the respiratory business will enable Avita to concentrate on its core business and to focus on what he describes as its “most valuable asset — our ReCell autologous cell harvesting technology”.

“The sale proceeds will enable us to focus on our core commercialisation and clinical goals, such as completing our ReCell FDA-approved trial currently underway in the US,” Kelliher said.

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) shares were trading 9.38% higher at $0.105 as of around 3.30 pm on Tuesday.