MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Pregnancy kit maker Concepta passes all the tests
By Joanne Hart for The Mail on Sunday
Every year, millions of women find that, for no apparent reason, they are unable to become pregnant. The discovery can be extremely upsetting.
Trips to the doctor ensue, where women and their partners are often told there is no obvious problem and they should simply keep trying – even after six months or more.
A cycle of frustration, stress and anxiety can follow, with wide-ranging consequences for all concerned.
Tests: Every year, millions of women find that, for no apparent reason, they are unable to become pregnant. The discovery can be extremely upsetting
Concepta has developed a simple product to help women with infertility issues to become pregnant. The shares listed on the stock market last month at 11p. They are now 12.63p and should rise substantially as the company progresses.
Though numerous women become pregnant without difficulty, many others plan their pregnancies, often using urine-based tests that are designed to tell them when they are at their most fertile. These work for the average woman but, for a sizeable minority, they do not.
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Research has shown that 30 per cent of women with unexplained infertility issues have low levels of the luteinising hormone associated with ovulation.
This does not mean they cannot have children. But it does mean off-the-shelf fertility testing kits do not work for them.
Concepta has developed the first kit – MyLotus – to tell women exactly what their luteinising hormone levels are, even if they are lower (or higher) than the norm. Women simply perform a urine test at home and place the swab in a hand-held meter, which provides instant and highly accurate readings.
Not only does the meter provide detailed, personalised information, but Concepta has also developed easier-to-use urine sampling equipment to make the whole process as simple as possible.
Innovation: Concepta has developed a simple product to help women with infertility issues to become pregnant
The procedure can be repeated over days or months, telling women when they are most likely to become pregnant. There is also an app, that allows users to create a diary of their hormonal cycle, useful both for women and their doctors, if they ultimately resort to medical intervention.
The meter even tells women if they have already become pregnant, again with ease and reliability.
Concepta's testing kit and app have been approved in China and the firm is expected to begin selling its products there this year.
The approval process is well under way in Europe too, so sales should begin in the UK and on the Continent in 2017.
Chief executive Erik Henau was in Shanghai last week, ironing out the final details before the product launch and expectations are high. Most middle-class women in China go to hospital if they have difficulty conceiving. They can expect to wait for hours before being seen, and even then doctors will rarely spend more than a few minutes with them, often providing little by way of advice, apart from to keep on trying.
Within the next couple of months, women will be offered a leaflet showing them the benefits of the Concepta meter. Those logging on to hospital wi-fi systems should also see adverts for the meter and information about where to buy it.
Launch: Concepta's testing kit and app have been approved in China and the firm is expected to begin selling its products there this year
Manufacturing has already been arranged in China and a local distributor has been appointed, focusing on Beijing and Shanghai, the two biggest cities in the country. Concepta has started in China because it has regulatory approval there and China is one of the largest markets in the world, with a rapidly growing middle-class.
The company is starting slowly, targeting ten to 20 hospitals but over time, its products will be available at hospitals across the country and direct to consumers online.
Meanwhile, plans for Europe are well advanced. The company, which is based in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, is developing a manufacturing site in Yorkshire to produce the meters and testing kits in volume.
Henau also intends to sell the products online, using pregnancy and infertility websites, support groups and exhibitions to market its wares.
The meters are expected to go on sale for between £250 and £300 and Concepta believes that demand should run into several million, growing steadily as the brand becomes more established.
The group is also working on related concepts, such as stress kits, which both men and women could use to measure their stress levels. People trying for a baby often experience high levels of stress, which can affect ovulation in women and sperm quality in men.
Easy-to-use kits could show couples when and if stress is affecting fertility, allowing them to seek treatment at an early stage. Such kits could also find a market outside of fertility treatment, given the increasing prevalence of stress-related disease.
Henau and his senior colleagues have decades of experience in the fertility industry, having worked on the market-leading ovulation and pregnancy testing kit, Clearblue, now owned by Procter & Gamble.
Midas verdict: Concepta is small, but Henau believes it can generate annual sales of at least £600 million in the next few years, rising strongly thereafter. At 12.63p, the shares should go far. Buy.
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