LabTech to raise $5.5 million, list on ASX

South Australia's LabTech Systems (NSX:LTS) has lodged a prospectus for an IPO to raise up to AUD$5.5 million to progress the development of its MicroStreak technology and assist in moving the company's shares and options from the Newcastle Stock Exchange to the Australian Stock Exchange.

The MicroStreak technology was invented in Adelaide at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) by John Glasson, and engineer and PhD candidate Lachlan Smith.

"We have designed a commercial automated laboratory instrumentation system and we propose it will automate many of the time-consuming manual tasks associated with agar plate preparation" said LabTech managing director Lusia Guthrie. "This technology is globally important to diagnostic micro laboratories and clinical labs investigating a range of pathological diseases, environmental monitoring and food testing -- any research looking for causes of infection.

Invetech, a subsidiary of Vision Systems (ASX:VSL), has been engaged to develop the first stage of product definition for instrumentation to automate the MicroStreak technology.

"We have just completed three months of product definition and specification and are ready to take it to commercial development -- that is what the fund raising is about," Guthrie said. "There is a big step now where we build prototypes for beta testing in the market place before going into commercial production."

LabTech's IPO opens today and closes on December 5, a minimum 22.5 million shares being offered at an issue price of $0.20 each. Oversubscriptions of up to a further $1 million will also be accepted. LabTech is expected to list on the ASX on December 19.

LabTech is a spinout of MedVet Science, and was formed in 2004 to raise funds on the NSX to take MicroStreak and anti-cancer platform technology APOMAD to proof-of-principle stage. LabTech has spun-out Apomab to commericalise the technology, and hopes to list the spinout on the NSX by the end of 2005.

"We deliberately listed on the NSX to initially access the capital markets but in a smaller way," Guthrie said. "It was a matter of building on what we started. The MicroStreak project is now at a state that it is ready to go to market and we want to get it there as quickly as we can."

The offer is fully underwritten by Martin Place Securities in Sydney.