Respiri appoints SRX Global to manufacture wheeze and asthma sensor

Respiri (ASX: RSH) has ticked off another key milestone – a manufacturing agreement with SRX Global, to produce its next generation breath and asthma wheeze detection sensor.

The sensor is the hardware component of Respiri’s pioneering asthma monitoring ecosystem.

According to Respiri, SRX Global is a leader in the fast-paced miniaturised electronic manufacturing marketplace, with a skilled labour force and vast state-of-the-art equipment housed in more than 23,000 square metres of facilities in Victoria and Malaysia.

Respiri stated that four imperatives guided its selection of the production partner: local operation to control synergies across the ecosystem, manufacturing innovation, strong engineering and the ability to quickly scale to volume to meet global demand.

“The selection of SRX Global as our manufacturer completes the local ecosystem concept with Respiri’s head office, and our development partners, Grey Innovation (hardware) and Two Bulls (user interface) based in Melbourne,” Respiri chief executive officer Mario Gattino.

“Being located in Melbourne provides us with the ability to easily share ideas and find solutions as we work through the development process to bring our new technology to market ensures the best possible outcome.”

“As volumes scale and once the design is in a steady state, we envisage production will move to SRX’s low-cost Malaysian facility. As is the case with our development partners, we anticipate a long and mutually beneficial collaboration with SRX Global,” Mr Gattino added.

Commenting on the agreement SRX chief executive officer Paul Appleby said the company intends to work closely with the Respiri and Grey Innovation teams to ensure the launch of this new product is successful, cost-efficient and robust.

Launch by April 2019

After product testing and verification, Respiri anticipates it will launch full production by April 2019.

“So far it’s been a very rewarding collaboration with Respiri and Two Bulls to develop the next generation of the world’s first wheeze detection technology,” Grey Innovation director Jefferson Harcourt said.

“Our design team has come up with a really intuitive design for the breath sensor. It’s got great aesthetics, it’s tactile and importantly, it’s robust.”

“And that’s what takes time – going from prototype to meeting medical device standards and making the medical device robust, not only to meet regulatory requirements, but to meet the expectations of both customers and clinicians,” Mr Harcourt added.

The market reacted positively to today’s news with the company’s share price rocketing more than 23% to finish Friday at $0.095.