Blueprint
Chinese Fund Invests in Bionik Laboratories and Establishes Joint
Venture
Chinese joint venture enables penetration into largest growth
market in the world
TORONTO and BOSTON, May 24, 2017 -- Bionik Laboratories
Corp. (OTCQX:BNKL)
(“Bionik” or the "Company"), a robotics company focused
on providing rehabilitation and assistive technology solutions to
individuals with neurological and mobility challenges from hospital
to home, today announced it has partnered with Ginger Capital
Investment Holding Ltd. (“Ginger Capital”) to bring its
evidence-based interactive robotic systems to the Chinese
market.
The joint venture between the two companies will include an
exclusive license to sell Bionik’s innovative robotic
products in China, including the Company’s
InMotion
ARM, InMotion
HAND, and InMotion
WRIST, which are all
interactive robotic products that assist the patients’
movement as they progress through their rehabilitation. Extensive
clinical data on more than 1,000 patients has demonstrated that the
InMotion robots provide more effective patient outcomes than
traditional manual therapy alone. The joint venture will also lead
the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) approval process for
the Company and its products.
Ginger Capital is investing $500,000 directly into the Company and
$1,450,000 into the JV to fund the joint venture’s operations
in China. Ginger Capital is fully funding the JV and highly
confident of the success of the Company’s clinically proven
products in China.
Ginger Capital is an experienced investment management company with
more than 10 years’ experience in providing successful
commercial relationships between the United States and China with
extensive relationships inside China and the Chinese health care
system. Bionik believes the $1,950,000 investment in the Company
and the joint venture demonstrates Ginger Capital’s
commitment to their success.
“I am excited that this joint venture provides Bionik’s
products with access to the largest growth market in the world and
I am inspired by being chosen for our technical advancements and
proven technology. I am also proud of the achievement of our
innovative engineering and management teams,” said Peter
Bloch, CEO of Bionik Laboratories. “It is through these types
of partnerships that Bionik can significantly increase its market
penetration and revenues. In fact, due to the serious international
interest we have experienced, we are currently negotiating
additional strategic partnerships to expand our distribution to
other major international markets. Bionik’s intellectual
property and know how is also expected to be utilized in the
emerging consumer robotic market. These initiatives are expected to
help accelerate the company’s path to revenue and provide
tremendous opportunity for Bionik to position itself as a leader in
the emerging robotic industry. I am truly pleased with the fact
that American technology will make a global impact and validate our
capabilities and ultimately improve human mobility
globally.”
Ms. Rita Jiang and Ms. Jia Cai, Managing Partners of Ginger Capital
said, “We selected Bionik to partner with us as a result of
the strong clinical data supporting the efficacy of their products.
We are looking forward to working with the team at Bionik
Laboratories and to bringing their superior robotic solutions to
the Chinese market. Bionik’s evidence-based products are
truly innovative and can provide improved patient care for millions
of people. We have established relationships for distribution in
China and the experience to succeed with this exciting joint
venture.”
With a growing population of approximately 1.4 billion, China
has close to
2.5 million incidences of stroke each
year and 7.5 million stroke survivors, compared to 795,000 strokes per year in the United
States. China presents a
significant market opportunity for Bionik to become the standard
for patient care, as medical professionals in the region seek
innovative ways to treat strokes and other neurological
disorders.
“The 16 million new stroke patients globally each year is
expected to triple by 2050 and China represents a large percentage
of those patients. This rapidly growing human issue requires
evidence-based solutions like ours in order to effectively treat
these patient populations and return them to activities of daily
living,” said Tim McCarthy, Chief Commercialization Officer
of Bionik Laboratories. “We are excited about this
partnership as it will significantly broaden access to our evidence
based solutions for stroke survivors and their families, allowing
them to live fuller and more independent lives.”
About Ginger Capital Investment Holding Ltd.
Ginger Capital Investment Holding Ltd. (GCI) is an independent
direct investment and management consulting group based in Hong
Kong. GCI invests in the strategic development of promising
medium-sized companies with Enterprise Values of US$50 million to
US$500 million that have substantial operations in US or Asia and
need capital for major expansions, mergers and acquisitions,
restructures, etc. having an Asia-focus. GCI’s major
management consulting focus is providing access to the Chinese
healthcare market – GCI has successfully established
relationships and partnered with major healthcare institutions
across China including research centers, private and public
hospital chains, and major clinics.
About Bionik Laboratories
Bionik Laboratories (OTCQX:BNKL) is a robotics company focused on
providing rehabilitation and mobility solutions to individuals with
neurological and mobility challenges from hospital to home. The
Company has a portfolio of products focused on upper and lower
extremity rehabilitation for stroke and other mobility-impaired
patients, including three products on the market and four products
in varying stages of development. The InMotion Systems — the
InMotion ARM™, InMotion Wrist™, InMotion Hand™
and InMotion AnkleBot™ — are designed to provide
intelligent, patient-adaptive therapy in a manner that has been
clinically verified to maximize neuro-recovery. Bionik is also
developing a lower-body exoskeleton, ARKE™, designed to allow
paraplegics as well as other wheelchair users the ability to
rehabilitate through walking. ARKE is designed to continually adapt
to a patient’s ability and provide real-time feedback to the
physiotherapist.
For more information, please visit www.bioniklabs.com and
connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe
historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation,
statements regarding (i) the plans and objectives of management for
future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the
design, development and commercialization of human exoskeletons and
other robotic rehabilitation products, (ii) a projection of income
(including income/loss), earnings (including earnings/loss) per
share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other
financial items, (iii) the Company's future financial performance,
and (iv) the assumptions underlying or relating to any statement
described in points (i), (ii) or (iii) above. Such forward-looking
statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results,
performance, events or circumstances, and may not be realized
because they are based upon the Company's current projections,
plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and
assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
and other influences, many of which the Company has no control.
Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances
may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking
statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors
that may influence or contribute to the inaccuracy of the
forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ
materially from expected or desired results may include, without
limitation, the Company's inability to obtain additional financing,
the significant length of time and resources associated with the
development of our products and related insufficient cash flows and
resulting illiquidity, the Company's inability to expand the
Company's business, significant government regulation of medical
devices and the healthcare industry, lack of product
diversification, volatility in the price of the Company's raw
materials, and the Company's failure to implement the Company's
business plans or strategies. These and other factors are
identified and described in more detail in the Company's filings
with the SEC. The Company does not undertake to update these
forward-looking statements.
Media contact:
Matt Bretzius
FischTank Marketing and PR
matt@fischtankpr.com
Investor Relations contact:
Amato and Partners, LLC
Investor Relations Counsel
admin@amatoandpartners.com