bluechiip in article in afr

Dear HotCopper members,

Please see page 36 of today's Australian Financial Review (AFR) and an article by Tim Binsted titled 'Health tech locals sign to US' which includes a big reference to Bluechiip. The article should appear on our company website www.bluechiip.com under News>Articles shortly.

Here is the text:

Health tech locals sign to US
by Tim Binsted

In a promising sign for Australia’s aspiring health technology entrepreneurs, listed technology start-ups Pro Medicus and Bluechiip have inked deals with global healthcare giants, taking a key step towards validating and commercialising their intellectual property.

The two locally listed juniors have walked divergent paths in pursuit of growth and development, but Bluechiip managing director Brett Schwarz and Pro Medicus chief executive Sam Hupert have both used Australia as a launching pad to generate sales into the key US market.

Earlier this month Mr Hupert sealed a five-year deal that will see one of the world’s largest radiology groups, vRad, implement Pro Medicus visage imaging technology which allows radiologists to visualise and diagnose without moving the image file.

Having never had to raise equity or debt, Pro Medicus defies the image of the cash-strapped tech start-up continually holding out the hat to investors. The company was able to fund its acquisition of Visage for $US3.5?million with cash from its existing operations.

In a shrewd move last July, Pro Medicus sold Amira – a research division that came with the Visage purchase – for $US15?million.

Mr Hupert, a former doctor who co-founded the medical practice management and imaging company with programmer Anthony Hall in 1983, is confident the deal will put his firm on the map in the US.

“This is a key milestone for us. The first phase of the rollout is material in its own right yet represents a relatively small percentage of vRad’s overall ¬volume, so there is potential for ¬significant upside in this contract,” Mr Hupert said.

vRad employs more than 400 radiologists reading 7?million studies ¬annually, and the credibility that stems from partnering with such a large group should help Pro Medicus expand its US footprint.

The positive aura that comes from working with industry heavyweights is not lost on Bluechiip’s Brett Schwarz.
Having penned a deal with distributer Micronic America in January, Mr Schwarz said that teaming up with global giant STMicroelectronics as a manufacturing partner back in 2011 was an important early validation of the Bluechiip technology.

“There’s significant credibility that comes with having ST on board. That’s a due diligence checkpoint for a lot of people.”

Since leaving chartered accounting in 1999, Mr Schwarz has been set on commercialising sophisticated barcode-like chips that are temperature sensitive and can store data.
Importantly for a product focused on biobanking (the storage of IVF samples, cord blood and so on), the chips can also withstand extremely low temperature and is able to monitor samples without handling, which prevents accidents.

Including $3?million in its 2011 initial public listing, Bluechiip has raised around $13.5?million over seven years and has booked its first $100,000 worth of sales in the past 11 months.

Mr Schwarz expects the company will be cashflow positive in 2015. “We’ve taken down the under development sign and we’re open for sales,” Mr Schwarz said. “We are on that growth path toward commercialisation so I can stop worrying about raising capital.”

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