Sky Labs is moving to tap the European hospital and clinic market with its ring-type blood pressure monitor. It signed a supply deal with a German blood pressure–measurement specialist and began a full-fledged push into Europe starting with the United Kingdom. With a KOSDAQ listing next month, it is notable that the company has secured overseas business results.
Sky Labs said on the 31st that it signed a supply contract with German 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) specialist IEM GmbH to provide the hospital- and clinic-use "CART blood pressure monitor" to the U.K. and European hospital and clinic market. The company said it posted $2.6 million in initial sales in the first half of this year.
The hospital- and clinic-use CART blood pressure monitor is a product that implements the conventional cuff-type ABPM in a ring form. Conventional ABPM measures blood pressure by pressing the upper arm at set intervals, which can disrupt patients' daily activities or sleep. In contrast, the CART blood pressure monitor measures blood pressure while the patient is wearing a ring, which the company said can reduce the patient's burden.
In particular, it can track blood pressure changes during sleep, making it useful for identifying hypertension that is hard to detect in routine care, such as nighttime hypertension.
IEM distributes hospital-use blood pressure monitors in the U.K. and Europe. Sky Labs plans to link the CART blood pressure monitor to IEM's existing ABPM software, FLOW. The plan is to enable local hospitals and clinics to use the CART blood pressure monitor in actual clinical workflows.
The foundation for entering the European market is the clinical effectiveness secured in Korea and the European medical device certification (CE MDR). Sky Labs plans to expand adoption by medical institutions across Europe starting with the U.K.
Chief Executive Lee Byeong-hwan of Sky Labs said, "The hospital- and clinic-use CART blood pressure monitor is the first cuffless blood pressure monitor to be listed for coverage under the national health insurance and included in the Korean Society of Hypertension's clinical guidelines, proving unrivaled credibility in clinical settings," and added, "These achievements and technical trust made this European market contract possible."
With this European entry, Sky Labs plans to accelerate the global expansion of its cuffless blood pressure–measurement technology. Based on its flagship product, CART BP pro, it is also broadening measurement to include not only blood pressure but also pulse, respiratory rate, body temperature and oxygen saturation.
Meanwhile, Sky Labs is slated to list on the KOSDAQ market on Sept. 4.
However, 246 institutions took part in the book-building for institutional investors, resulting in a competition rate of 63.41 to 1. As more than 60% of the requested volume in the book-building proposed prices below the desired offering range of 13,000 to 16,000 won, the offering price was set at 10,000 won.
The proportion of institutional lock-up commitments was just 0.17% by quantity. The subscription competition rate for retail investors stood at 2.85 to 1.
It is seen as reflecting weakened initial public offering (IPO) investor sentiment, as newly listed stocks have recently continued to trade below their offering prices.