[TPNSF] TEPNEL LIFE SCIENCES FOREIGN - UK* ; [AORTF] AORTECH INTERNATIONA FOREIGN -UK*
Tepnel surges 22% on Orchid deal
Aortech starts trials; PowderJect expects 40% sales growth
By Saskia Wirth, FTMarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:44 AM ET Oct 1, 2001
LONDON (FTMW) -- Tepnel Life Sciences, which develops DNA purification systems, on Monday announced a collaboration with Orchid BioSciences of the U.S. to expand its research services, sending shares up more than 20 percent.
Tepnel (TED) shares surged 21.7 percent to 14.25 pence after it acquired Orchid's SNPstream 25k genotyping system and database access, and said the two companies would collaborate in marketing research services in the UK and Ireland.
Under the deal, Orchid (ORCH) also agreed to make an equity investment in Tepnel by subscribing to 1.7 million new shares at 1 pence each - the equivalent of 1.78 percent of Tepnel's share capital - in addition to a further $250,000 depending on certain sales milestones.
The company also reported a 56 percent increase in full-year sales to £1.76 million. Pre-tax loss for the period widened to £2.69 million from £1.95 million in 2000, largely as a result of increased R&D and marketing spending as Tepnel gears up for the imminent launch of its first product.
Gyrus widens losses
UK health care company Gyrus (GYG) reported widening first-half pre-tax losses to £3.08 million from £1.67 million the previous year. The group said the figure reflected its increased investment in research and development operations as well as marketing.
Turnover for the period rose to £14.25 million from £5.75 million, while product sales and royalties were up from £7.43 million to £16.53 million.
Gyrus said it was confident of achieving its growth expectations throughout the second half and into 2002. Shares were down 1.5 percent at 200 pence in late afternoon trade.
PowderJect expects 40% sales growth
PowderJect (PJP) said its expects to increase last years' flu vaccine sales of £40.6 million by over 40 percent as a result of rising demand. The company has developed a range of vaccines based on its powder injection technology.
"For the second year running PowderJect was the first manufacturer to distribute flu vaccine in the continental U.S., reinforcing the company's position as a key player in this major market," it said. Shares rose 3.3 percent to 345 pence following the announcement
In order to ensure sufficient supplies for a global flu vaccine market that is expected to grow from currently $500 million to $900 million by 2005, PowderJect said it's investing £13 million in its Liverpool manufacturing facilities to increase capacity. See PowderJect puts £13 mln into flu vaccine
Aortech starts trials
AorTech International (AOR) , the Scottish maker of cardiovascular devices, announced the start of regulatory trials for its synthetic trileaflet heart valve, with patient trials scheduled to begin in late 2002.
The company said its product, which is made from Elast-Eon synthetic material, it hoped to overcome the problems associates with the mechanical and tissue valves currently available. Mechanical valves require daily treatment to prevent blood clotting, while tissue valves have a limited lifespan, it said.
In May, the group announced it had successfully raised £20 million to fund its development programme, commercialise some of its products, and finance the start of clinical trials over the next two years. See Aortech secures funding
AorTech shares came under pressure at the beginning of March after it called off a proposed share offer to raise £64 million quoting difficult market conditions. Markets reacted nervously and investors raised questions as to why the company needed so much money. See Aortech plans £20.1 mln share offer
Shares were up 1.6 percent at 129 pence in late afternoon trade.
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