Expansion of Collaboration with ForteBio

RNS Number : 0915K

Avacta Group PLC

25 July 2013

 



Press Release

25 July 2013

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or the "Group")

Expansion of Commercial Collaboration with ForteBio

ForteBio Signs Distribution Agreement in China

Avacta Group plc (AIM:AVCT), a global provider of innovative diagnostic tools, consumables and reagents aimed at reducing the cost of human and animal healthcare, is pleased to announce that it has extended its commercial collaboration with ForteBio, a division of Pall Life Sciences. Avacta has entered into a distribution agreement with ForteBio for the sale of Optim, the Group's protein analysis product, in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Optim has been developed to accelerate and reduce the cost of drug development by providing early analysis of compounds to identify the best candidates and to define the optimal processing conditions.  In the critical stages of pre-formulation, stability testing and formulation of biopharmaceutical drugs, Optim delivers vital information tens of times faster than other approaches, using sample sizes less than a hundredth the size of those needed by existing techniques.  Optim comprises a benchtop instrument, analysis software and a single-use sample holder that leads to recurring consumables revenues.

Pall Life Sciences has been in partnership with Avacta since 2011, with distribution agreements in place to market Optim in the US, SE Asia including Australia, India and now in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ForteBio develops analytical systems that enable real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions (protein quantification and characterisation of protein-protein interactions) in micro-volume sample sizes, providing information on affinity, kinetics, and concentration. It has global sales, marketing and support functions.

Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group commented: "The Board is delighted to have moved the Group's distribution relationship in China to ForteBio; this partnership is performing well across the other territories with good growth in the sales pipeline for the Optim 2 unit which was launched a few months ago.  The training of ForteBio's global sales, marketing and support teams has been completed and the Board anticipates seeing a strong performance in these new territories."

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Enquiries:

Avacta Group plc Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer Tim Sykes, Chief Financial Officer	Tel:  [phone] www.avacta.com
Numis Securities Limited     Michael Meade / Freddie Barnfield - Nominated Adviser James Black - Corporate Broking	Tel:  [phone] www.numiscorp.com
Media Enquiries Abchurch Communications Sarah Hollins / Joanne Shears / Jamie Hooper / Harriet Rae [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.abchurch-group.com

Notes to Editors:

Avacta Group plc is a global provider of innovative technologies, consumables and reagents for the life science markets, from drug discovery to diagnostics.

Avacta's products address one of the most significant global challenges facing mankind today - the rapidly rising cost of healthcare for a growing and ageing population.

The cost of healthcare is driven by many factors.  New drugs are expensive to develop, most don't reach the patient and those that do are often very costly to prescribe.  Inadequate, incorrect or slow diagnosis causes delays that lead to longer or less effective courses of treatment resulting in lengthy or repeated hospitalisation.

Avacta is dedicated to developing and providing innovative and practical tools to help drug developers get their products to market quicker and more reliably, and to providing clinicians with rapid and powerful diagnostics to improve patient treatment, helping to reduce the cost of healthcare worldwide.

Avacta joined AIM in August 2006 and is based in Wetherby, England.

For further information visit www.avacta.com

 

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