Pre-close Trading Update

RNS Number : 9758L

Avacta Group PLC

09 August 2011

 



Press release

09 August 2011

Avacta Group plc

("Avacta" or "the Group")

Pre-close Trading Update

Avacta Group plc (AIM:AVCT), a leading provider of analytical and diagnostic technologies and services to the pharmaceutical and animal healthcare sectors, today announces the following trading update for the six month period to 31 July 2011 .

Trading update

The Company is pleased to announce that trading is in line with expectations. Underlying revenues have grown and operating losses have been reduced significantly; both are in line with market forecasts.

Avacta Analytical

Avacta Analytical's commercial partnerships are progressing well. The Company now has commercial agreements in place, to sell Optim, with:

·     Pall Corporation in North America

·     Isogen Life Sciences in mainland Europe

·     DKSH in Japan

·     Cold Spring Biotech in China, Honk Kong and Taiwan

The Company has exceeded market expectations for sales of its Optim protein analysis system with 14 systems ordered during the year. The Company already has orders for the new financial year and an encouraging pipeline of high quality sales leads in place.  Management hopes that these partnerships will lead to a growth in sales going forward. 

The Company has additionally put an agreement in place with Pall Corporation to market and provide joint analytical services to be aimed at reducing drug development risk by giving greater insight into the effects of their manufacturing processes on the stability and structure of the products.

Avacta Animal Health

The previously announced issues with the manufacture and injection moulding of the AX-1 disposable cartridges that have delayed product roll-out are now resolved. The Company is now building stock of the new cartridges and AX-1 units and will be supplying the AX-1 point-of-care diagnostic system to customers later in 2011.

Avacta is delighted to announce two new appointments at Avacta Animal Health. Ged Holmes has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Ged has a strong track record in commercialising new technologies in a diverse range of markets and has a proven track record of developing growth companies. He will be tasked with effective roll-out and commercialisation of AX-1.

Avacta Animal Health is also delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Andy Peters as consultant to the Company. Andy is currently Managing Director of Arpexas Limited, a consultancy company providing support to the animal health sector in new product development. He is also a part time consultant to AspenBio Pharma Inc. and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines. Previous roles include Head of European Vaccine R&D, Pfizer Animal Health. Andy will provide important clinical advice and market knowledge to assist in prioritising the development of new tests for the AX-1 beyond the initial panels identified by the company.

Date of Preliminary Results

The Group expects to release its Preliminary Results on Wednesday 25 October 2011, along with a further trading update at that time.

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

Avacta Group plc Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer	Tel:  [phone] www.avacta.com
Broker XCAP Securities plc John Grant/Karen Kelly/Parimal Kumar	Tel:  [phone] www.xcapgroup.com
Nominated Adviser Grant Thornton Corporate Finance Philip Secrett/Colin Aaronson	Tel:  [phone] www.grantthornton.co.uk
Media Enquiries Abchurch Communications Sarah Hollins/Adam Michael/Oliver Hibberd	Tel: [phone] www.abchurch-group.com

Notes to Editors:

Avacta Group plc, a world leading, UK-based healthcare equipment and instrumentation business, provides innovative, high value proprietary technologies and services to the life sciences/healthcare sector through two operating divisions:

Avacta Analytical provides high-end analytical instrumentation and services to the biopharmaceutical sector, expected to be a $200bn revenues market by 2013 and the fastest growing part of the pharmaceutical industry. The Group's technologies are aimed at reducing the risks and expense associated with biological drug development and thereby reducing the final cost of drugs to patients. The Group's lead analytical instrument, Optim, is distributed through Pall Corporation in the US, Isogen Life Sciences in Europe, Cold Spring Biotech Corp in China and Taiwan and DKSH in Japan. Avacta sells Optim directly in the UK.

Avacta Animal Health provides diagnostic products and services for the $1.5bn global veterinary diagnostics market. Its aim is to equip veterinary professionals with high quality animal health and well-being information, through point of care diagnostics, reagents and testing kits and laboratory based testing. Avacta's AX-1 point of care immunoassay system is aimed at providing the veterinarian with rapid blood test results in the clinic. The initial range of tests launched with the AX-1 relates to Avacta's world leading allergy testing brand Sensitest®.Avacta is currently developing further assays for the AX-1 system to diagnose other diseases in companion animals. Longer term this technology will be transferred into the human clinical diagnostics market.

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

 

END

 

 

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