BlinkLab Limited (ASX: BB1) shares have had a strong start to life on the ASX boards following an initial public offering (IPO).
In afternoon trade, the medtech company's shares are trading at 26 cents.
This is 30% higher than its ASX IPO listing price of 20 cents.
Though, things were even better in earlier trade. At one stage, Blinklab shares were up as much as 52% to 30.5 cents.
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What is this latest ASX IPO?
BlinkLab is a company focused on developing new smartphone-based artificial intelligence-powered mental healthcare solutions.
It was started by neuroscientists at Princeton University in the United States and over the past several years has fully developed a smartphone-based test for early diagnosis of autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
The company notes that previous clinical trials have shown an impressive success rate in the diagnosis of autism, achieving sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 84%.
Importantly, these trials are very similar to regulatory studies required by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have shown a much higher accuracy compared to currently approved products that do not use computer vision nor a smartphone.
Funds raised
BlinkLab advised that its oversubscribed ASX IPO raised $7 million at $0.20 per new share.
These funds will be used to finalise an FDA Class II medical device registration study in autism in partnership with leading US university hospitals.
In addition, the company plans to initiate further clinical studies in other programs including ADHD, as well as continue to advance in-house artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms.
'A milestone for BlinkLab'
BlinkLab's co-founder and chief executive officer, Henk-Jan Boele, was pleased with the IPO and listing on the ASX. He said:
Today marks a milestone for BlinkLab as we list on the ASX, which will be a new chapter in our journey to bridge the translational gap between groundbreaking science and everyday lives of people. Since the beginning as a Princeton University startup several years ago, our mission has always been to harness the power of fundamental neuroscience using mobile technology in order to improve the early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions in children.
This listing not only validates our team's dedication, excellence, and hard work but also opens exciting opportunities for us to expand our reach and impact. We are deeply committed to obtaining regulatory clearances for BlinkLab to make neuroscience accessible and beneficial for all. Our ASX listing is a significant step towards realizing this vision. We look forward to the support of our new shareholders and the broader community as we continue to innovate and bring our vision to life.
