A minor setbackLast week, ResApp encountered a setback after an...

A minor setback

Last week, ResApp encountered a setback after an independent study revealed that its Covid cough algorithm achieved a sensitivity of only 84% and a specificity of 58% – significantly lower than the results of ResApp’s own pilot study.

They’re also significantly lower than the thresholds specified under the acquisition terms with Pfizer, which set a minimum sensitivity of 86% and a minimum specificity of 71%.

As a result, Pfizer’s acquisition price has now been reduced from 20.7c to 14.6c, representing an equity value for ResApp of $127 million.

“From our perspective, this was a natural progression in the development of the technology,” Keating told *.

“Taking the technology from the initial pilot study through to the confirmatory study was always the next step in the process.

“And clearly, it’s illustrated the risks in developing the technology further. There’s always risks in clinical trials, but we still believe very strongly that cough sounds contain a signature associated with Covid-19,” he added.

Keating acknowledged the independent results demonstrated that his team needs to go back and refine, or even potentially retrain those algorithms.

“It’s a machine learning AI algorithm. So the more data the better the algorithm.

“And now we have more data. So it’s not the end of the line for our Covid project. It’s a bump in the road, and we’ll keep moving forward,” he said.

Lesson for other companies

When asked the qualities a company would need to have in order to be acquired by a global giant like Pfizer, Keating said, “I can reflect on our journey and the things we did, because obviously that’s what someone like Pfizer is looking for.”

“I think we succeeded because we focused heavily on the science, validation, peer reviewed publications, and clinical trials. That’s how we gained respect.

“Secondly, you need create something that’s very disruptive and very unique.

“We’re a long way down here in Australia, and we’re a small market. So the only way you will get the interest of global companies is to be doing something that’s extremely unique.

“Something that has a blue sky opportunity or a moon shot as such, because they’re the things that will really attract large players.”