Nexsen (ASX:NXN) secures HK$6M grant to advance Asia Pacific go-to-market strategy
Nexsen (ASX:NXN) has been awarded a HK$6M IGNITE Grant from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, providing non dilutive funding to support clinical validation and manufacturing scale up of its StrepSure® diagnostic as the company advances its Asia Pacific execution strategy.
Highlights
- HK$6M IGNITE Grant awarded in non dilutive funding
- Immediate commencement of local clinical validation through established hospital networks
- Hong Kong established as a manufacturing and distribution hub
- Access to ~31,700 annual births and ~21.5% GBS prevalence in Hong Kong
- Exposure to a broader Asia Pacific birth cohort of 47 million annually
- Total grant support now exceeds approximately $13M across programs
The grant will be applied to the regional development and optimisation of StrepSure®, including tailoring device performance and design to meet specific clinical and workflow requirements across Asia Pacific markets.
Activities supported by the funding are expected to include the initiation of local clinical validation studies through hospital partnerships and the establishment of manufacturing capability in Hong Kong to support scalable production and regional supply.
Hong Kong has been identified by the company as a key early market opportuntity for Nexsen and long term base for manufacturing and distribution of its point of care diagnostics.
The region provides access to established clinical infrastructure and a defined regulatory pathway through the Medical Device Administrative Control System, which allows products to be approved based on local clinical validation, performance data and recognised quality standards.
This framework supports a structured pathway toward entry and adoption within the healthcare system.
Nexsen has also established relationships with clinicians and healthcare networks across the region, providing a foundation for local validation, real world data generation and early adoption.
These partnerships are expected to support execution of clinical and commercial activities in Hong Kong, while the addition of in region manufacturing capability is intended to strengthen supply reliability, enable faster product iteration and align production with local regulatory requirements.
This capability is expected to complement existing Australian manufacturing capacity, which is anticipated to support initial production of up to 1 million devices per annum.
Managing Director, Mark Muzzin, commented:
“The grant and support from the Hong Kong Government is strong validation of our strategy to position Hong Kong as a central hub for product manufacturing and distribution.
It gives us the ability to move quickly on clinical validation and establish in-region manufacturing capability, bringing StrepSure® closer to commercial readiness and supporting adoption across Asia-Pacific, which represents more than 47million births annually – a significant addressable market for StrepSure®.
Importantly for our shareholders, we continue to deliver against the milestones we’ve set out in a capital-efficient manner, without dilution.”
The award of the IGNITE Grant strengthens Nexsen’s ability to execute its stated rollout strategy by enabling key activities across clinical validation, product optimisation and manufacturing scale up.
The company notes that these activities are expected to generate real world performance data while advancing StrepSure® toward commercial readiness and supporting progression toward initial commercialisation in Asia Pacific markets.
In the context of the broader diagnostics sector, the establishment of clinical validation programs and in region manufacturing capability positions Nexsen to progress its deployment strategy within a defined regulatory environment, supported by existing healthcare networks and non dilutive funding.