Belluscura signs manufacturing deal in China

The AIM-traded firm said the deal would more-than-double its manufacturing capacity next year, and enable it to accelerate its international expansion by opening in Asian markets in 2023 and beyond.

InnoMax is a joint venture between MaxNerva Technology Services and the National Center for Advanced Medical Devices (NMED) based in Shenzhen.

NMED was described as the first national manufacturing innovation centre in Shenzhen, and was also the only innovation centre set up by China’s government in the field of medical devices.

Maxnerva Technology, meanwhile, is an affiliate of “one of the leading” contract electronics manufacturers globally, Belluscura said.

Commercialisation and distribution in Asia were expected to occur by the first quarter of 2023, with Belluscura planning to manufacture both the next generation X-PLO2R oxygen concentrator and the next portable oxygen concentrator in its portfolio, the ‘DISCOV-R’.

Under the master supply agreement, both parties intended to execute statements of work, which would specify the terms and conditions by which InnoMax would assist the company in the design, manufacture, assembly, repair and distribution of product.

The agreement had an initial duration of three years, and unless either party notified the other, it would automatically renew annually after that.

“Manufacturing X-PLO2R products at the national innovation centre for medical devices with an affiliate of the world's leading electronics manufacturing company is transformational for the group,” said chief executive officer Robert Rauker.

“The agreement will more than double our manufacturing capacity and will provide access to the significantly larger Asian market - in China alone there are five times the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cases than in the US.”

At 1231 BST, shares in Belluscura were up 18.69% at 117.5p.