Pre-close trading update

RNS Number : 6835M

Avacta Group PLC

29 August 2013

 



Press Release

29 August 2013

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or "the Group")

Pre-close trading update

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, today provides the following trading update for the year ended 31 July 2013.

Trading update

The Group is pleased to announce that trading is in line with management's expectations.

Group

·	Revenues for the year ended 31 July 2013 were on target at £2.7 million.
·	On 5 August 2013, the Group was successful in raising £4.7 million gross proceeds through a placing of new ordinary shares with both new and existing shareholders at a premium to the prevailing share price, to strengthen the balance sheet and support the Group's future development.
·	Dr Trevor Nicholls, ex-Chief Commercial Officer of Affymetrix, joined the Board of Avacta as a Non-Executive Director in August 2013 bringing over 30 years of commercial experience building international businesses in the life sciences sector.

Avacta Analytical

·

Avacta completed the re-engineering of the Optim system and the training of ForteBio, its commercial partner in the US, China, India and South East Asia, which was recently acquired by Pall Corporation.  Sales of Optim2 gathered pace in the second half with 10 units shipped during the six month period ended 31 July 2013.

Avacta Animal Health

·	The Group's new diagnostic device, Sensipod, aimed at the animal health sector, is in production and will be shipped in the UK during early September 2013 along with its first test, a canine allergy pre-screen, which assists veterinarians in the diagnosis of allergies in dogs.
·	The expansion of the menu of tests for use with Sensipod is progressing well and Avacta expects to add several additional new tests during the current financial year.

Avacta Life Sciences

·	The development of Affimer reagents and microarrays remains on track for first revenues during 2014.

Date of Preliminary Results

The Group expects to release its Preliminary Results on Tuesday, 29 October 2013, along with a further trading update at that time.

- Ends -

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 / 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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