Epistem Share Price (EHP)

interesting!

As announced in the company's preliminary results issued on October 16th, Epistem's collaborations with Becton Dickinson and Xcelris Laboratories include escalating annual volume requirements for units and assays with each contract capable of delivering revenues to Epistem in excess of $20m-30m per annum over the next three to five years. The company will require more working capital as its first regulated test on Genedrive for the tuberculosis market is expected to generate initial sales in the first quarter of 2013. Regulatory approval of the tuberculosis assay specific to the Indian subcontinent is expected in the first half of 2013.

Epistem, a biotechnology and personalised medicine company is to raise 4.3m pounds before expenses through a placing of approximately 793.4m shares at 545p a share. The new ordinary shares, which represent 8.9% of Epistem's issued share capital have been conditionally placed with existing and new institutional investors at a 4% discount to the closing mid-market price on December 6th. They'll hit the market on December 13th. The net proceeds of £4.2m will provide funds for the commercial launch of Genedrive, its new molecular diagnostic device as well as its first test for tuberculosis. Commenting on the placing, Matthew Walls, Chief Executive Officer of Epistem, said: "We are about to enter a new and exciting phase of growth for Epistem with the launch of Genedrive, our first healthcare/diagnostic product. We believe Genedrive can change the way diagnostics is delivered in 'near patient' settings by providing the 'gold standard' of DNA based test results at significantly reduced cost in a simple to use device form."

Consensus forecasts for the year ending June 30th 2013 are for a pre-tax loss of £270,000 on turnover of £6.98m.

Investec Asset Management has taken a 7.05 per cent stake in Epistem, a biotech firm working in the area of personalised medicine. Over the past three months the loss-making AIM-listed company, Epistem, has shot up approximately 50%. Earlier this month it reported steady full-year results, while detailing accelerating investment in a number of its core development programmes. Total sales of £5.6m (2011: £5.8m) were driven by a solid performance by Contract Research Services and strong growth in its Personalised Medicine division. The latter delivered more than 100% year-on-year growth, following collaborations with GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and emerging sales of its Genedrive diagnosis machine. There has been ongoing investment in its Novel Therapies lead programme and its Diagnostics (Genedrive) programmes. This was the reason it gives for moving into a pre-tax loss of £720,000 from a profit of £357,000. A successful £2.7m cash placing, led to a strengthened cash balance of £4.7m at June 30th.

Biotechnology firm Epistem has delivered steady full-year results, while also accelerating investment in a number of its core development programmes. Total sales of £5.6m (2011: £5.8m) were driven by a solid performance by Contract Research Services and strong growth in its Personalised Medicine division. The latter delivered more than 100% year-on-year growth, following collaborations with GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and emerging sales of its Genedrive diagnosis machine. There has been ongoing investment in its Novel Therapies lead programme and its Diagnostics (Genedrive) programmes. This was the reason it gives for moving into a pre-tax loss of £720,000 from a profit of £357,000. A successful £2.7m cash placing, led to a strengthened cash balance of £4.7m at June 30th. Consensus forecasts for the year ending June 30th 2013 are for a pre-tax loss of £270,000 on turnover of £6.98m.