Annually 3.2m people tragically die from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – the world’s 3rd largest cause of non-natural death. Smoking (70%+) and poor air quality are the most common reasons, with both being prevalent in South East Asia, where tobacco use and polluted cities are issues.

Enter Belluscura (BELL) , a developer of best-in-class portable oxygen concentrators (POCs), to treat COPD.

Indeed after receiving FDA approval in 2020, #BELL is rapidly commercialising its innovative medical devices across the US, and is similarly now expanding abroad.

Today the company said it had received regulatory approval from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority to distribute its X-PLOR POC locally. Here 5.9% of adults above the age of 40 have COPD - albeit this is likely to be an underestimate as many patients remain undiagnosed.

Importantly too, Singapore provides a gateway to other ASEAN countries - since its authorised medical devices receive expedited review in places like Thailand (1m suffers) and the Philippines, which have much larger populations.

In terms of getting its products into patient hands, Singapore forms part of the Exclusive License Agreement with Innomax for the manufacture & distribution of Belluscura ’s POCs. Under which Innomax will pay a minimum royalty and a share of profits on the X-PLOR and accessories.

Further updates to this partnership and additional territories will be provided by the Board as it continues to build out its presence across the region, including for the new DISCOV-R.

CEO Bob Rauker commenting: “We are very excited to receive this approval, enabling us to launch sales in Singapore, as a first market in the ASEAN region. With our arrangement with InnoMax in place, we are confident that we can now deliver on the significant potential for our products in this large and growing region.”

Lastly Belluscura is in the final stages of closing its proposed purchase of cash shell TMT Acquisitions in an all-stock deal for £5.7m (20.625m new #BELL shares). It is anticipated a formal Offer Document will be posted to TMT shareholders sometime this month.

Watch this space.