HealthBeacon IPO backed by Canaccord and AIB

Canada's Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management has emerged as the biggest backer of the €25 million initial public offering (IPO) of HealthBeacon, a Dublin-based medical technology company.

The Vancouver-based company has agreed to pay €10.5 million to buy more than 40 per cent of the new shares being sold as part of the deal, which values the entire company ahead of its stock exchange flotation in Dublin next Wednesday at €98 million, according to IPO filings published on Friday.

Its stake will stand at 10.7 per cent, making it the joint third-largest shareholder in HealthBeacon, alongside the company's co-founder and chief executive, Jim Joyce.

Sources said that AIB has also committed to acquire close to a 2 per cent stake in HealthBeacon. The IPO, managed by Goodbody Stockbrokers, was priced at €5.85 per share.

Open Orphan subsidiary wins $13.4m contract with US biotech company

---

EU expects Europe plants to produce 3.6 billion Covid shots in 2022

---

Medtech company BD to create 100 jobs in Drogheda

---

DermView raises €1.9m to fund expansion after winning NHS contract

---

HealthBeacon, founded in 2013, has developed a solution that helps patients better adhere to injectable medications schedules.

Its flagship product is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved smart sharps bin for use by patients who inject medication at home. The bin, which is a little bigger than a standard toaster, is digitally connected to an individual’s smartphone and is used for the disposal of injector pens and syringes as well as to track individual patients’ adherence to medication regimes and to remind them to stay on track if necessary.

“HealthBeacon is at a pivotal stage of its development and this IPO will support the acceleration of our ambitious growth strategy,” Mr Joyce said on Friday. “Our fundamental aim is to make our product globally accessible to the tens of millions of patients worldwide who are managing injectable medications in the home. The proceeds raised through this IPO will enable us to scale to meet potential demand.”

The company forecasts that it will have about 10,200 units deployed to patients using its system by the end of 2021, with a near-term target of having 100,000 units deployed by the end of 2023.

HealthBeacon has more than 50 employees, about 30 of whom are based in Dublin. It plans to grow the team to 150 over the next two years, with the Irish workforce expanding proportionately to 90.

Belfast-born entrepreneur Bill McCabe’s Oyster Capital, an early backer of HealthBeacon, had been expected to sell down part of its stake in a placement with stock market investors at the same time as the IPO. However, that did not take place. Oyster Capital’s stake will be diluted to 11.1 per cent from 16.3 per cent as a result of the new shares being issued under the IPO.