Creo Medical Group (CREO ) said trading for the year ended 31 December 2020 has come in marginally ahead of management expectations as a result of ‘strong regulatory and commercial progress’ achieved despite the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 restrictions. 

The medical device company which is focused on the emerging field of surgical endoscopy said revenue for the year ended 31 December 2020 increased to over £9m (FY19: £0.01m) while the Company also reported a net cash position at period-end in excess of £45m. 

The Group said that during 2020, it had demonstrated commercial progress with the transformational acquisitions of Albyn Medical S.L. and Boucart Medical SRL. So far, the integration of these businesses has performed in line with management's expectations. 

Creo said the acquisitions provide a direct sales presence in Europe to facilitate the roll-out of its CE-marked advanced energy devices and strengthen its EU and UK commercial teams. 

The Company said it has also made good progress ahead of plan on the regulatory front. During 2020, Creo successfully CE marked an additional five devices, achieved FDA 510k clearance for its tissue ablation device, MicroBlate™ Fine, and, in December 2020, reported the first clinical use of MicroBlate Fine in a successful pancreatic tumour ablation.  

In addition, Creo said it has grown its commercial team organically with the appointment of David Woods as Chief Commercial Officer. Creo said this will help the Group move from a distributor model to a direct and/or directly managed sales approach worldwide.   

At the beginning of 2020, Creo had a team of 91 people based almost exclusively in the UK, and by the end of the year the Company had more than doubled the size of its team, with a 10-fold increase in its commercial, marketing and distribution resource and a presence across five European countries, four regions of the US and a centralised hub in APAC, it noted. 

Shares in Creo Medical Group have increased by over 40% in value in the past three months. The stock was trading 4.17% higher this morning at 225p following the announcement.  

Despite COVID-19 continuing to create global uncertainty, Creo has delivered ‘exceptional results’ across many fronts including building a global commercial team, finding innovative ways to train clinicians and delivering revenue ahead of management's expectation. 

Creo has already achieved FDA 510k clearance this year for a fourth product, MicroBlate™ Flex. In 2021, the Company said it expects to build on its current momentum and commercial infrastructure in order to generate increasing revenues, develop wider commercial opportunities and take further steps along the pathway to commercialisation. 

The immediate focus for Creo is to deliver clinical outcomes for all devices, it said. Creo also intends to explore possible applications for its Kamaptive™ technology in the adjacent fields of laparoscopic and robotic assisted surgery together with third party partners. 

“Despite COVID-19 having a short-term impact on the business, the last 12 months has been a period of transformational change for the Company.  At the start of the pandemic, we asked the Creo team to focus on what they can achieve, not what they can't achieve; I believe that they have done just that,” commented Craig Gulliford, Chief Executive of Creo. 

"In addition to stepping up to provide our own COVID response in local communities, we have gained further CE marks and FDA regulatory approvals for our devices, organically grown talent and completed the acquisitions of Albyn Medical S.L. and Boucart Medical SRL.  

The regionalised nature of the Group's business hedges against pandemic related travel restrictions. With the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines underway, we look forward to realising our goals this year and beyond” he added. 

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