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| Lombard Medical is planning a U.S. IPO to support the commercialization of its Aorfix stent.--Courtesy of Lombard Medical |
London's Lombard Medical is riding high on a spike in demand for its aortic repair device, and now the company has its heart set on a stateside IPO, planning to file with the SEC and swing for a spot on the Nasdaq.
Last year, Lombard won FDA approval for Aorfix, an endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) tool designed to treat aneurysms in the vessel. Since then, the company has been expanding its share of global EVAR market, boosting Aorfix sales by 25% in 2013 and 38% since the device's U.S. launch in November, Lombard reported.
Now, in order to fund its dreams of global expansion, Lombard wants to ditch the London Stock Exchange and go public in the U.S., a process that will involve forming a holding company to transfer existing shares once it makes the leap onto the Nasdaq, the company said. Lombard is yet to set any terms for its planned IPO, and all of its ambitions depend on the SEC accepting its registration statement.
If all goes according to plan, Lombard's first objective will be to scale up its sales force in the U.S., which accounts for about half of the $1.4 billion global market for EVAR devices, the company said. Lombard expects U.S. demand to grow about 7% annually over the next 5 years, and, as the only device indicated for aneurysm angulations as severe as 90 degrees, Aorfix is poised for a rapid adoption, the company figures.
Next, Lombard has its eye on Japan, expecting to win approval there this year and commercialize the device with the help of its local partner, Medico's Hirata, entering a $140 million market.
- read the statement (PDF)