Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Saintsmith -
I'm familiar with your sentiment re JW.
Losing this case will give the Novacyt group a very large financial headache.
He is Founder and Chairman of the Business and Investment Committee at WestBridge Capital. etcetera.
So his reputation as a successful business leader is at stake with this trial (should DHSC go down that road), and that's why he has spent heavily on Twigger and Co.
For this reason, victory in court is not a want it's a need, - more of a must have.
Ramifications for him and his business reputation should Novacyt lose, go way beyond the Novacyt group, -
a remote star in the constellation he has interests in.
COURT
JW has no option.
I believe he won't have it any other way.
1 He's already spent a boat load of cash on Twigger and Co mounting a full and feisty defence.
2 He has seen the DHSC summary judgement (their best shot at a quick win) dismissed. - What will follow in court is effectively a customer trying to bring the manufacturer's design / manufacture of an assay into disrepute, and the DHSC now know the company documents, practices, processes and evidence to be used by the defence.
There's no product complaint from other purchasers as far as we know.
3 JW will retrieve / enhance the Primerdesign / Novacyt reputation to the industry for developing fast effective responses to communicable disease, making them one of the first ports of call in a pandemic.
What's that worth to a company in Novacyt's position?
4 Each assay produced by a Novacyt group company has an IFU, - Instructions For Use.
Twigger will want to know that this document was followed implicitly by the seven test laboratories.
If it wasn't (and Novacyt might already have told so), then that will not have a good outcome for the DHSC.
5 Should there be another pandemic, the DHSC will be situated exactly as they were at the beginning of Covid.
Primerdesign et al will be asking premium prices with the market offering few alternatives at first.
Competing assay manufacturers will all be quoting premium prices.
So no deal required to poor oil on troubled water with the DHSC, - If they aren't the customer, there will be many others worldwide with interest in Novacyt Group assays.
Novacyt now have further GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturing facilities available at Yourgene in Manchester should business become manic.
He'll want the full £81.5 mil + interest because it's probably already button holed in his plans for the future.
Novacyt will be viewed by predators as a cash cow with a superb reputation if Novacyt win the case.
I hope he spends quickly on M&A to avoid takeover interest.
In the above situation I hope the DHSC concedes saving themselves further embarrassment,
handing over £81.5mil + interest soonest.
Sp would be higher this morning if the Bourse were open.
Where Primerdesign has claimed 81.5 mil pounds, - you may be underestimating JW there.
IMO JW's plans are for the full amount, Primerdesign fully vindicated and DHSC claim rejected by the High Court.
Most of the money to defend the claim is already spent, why be benevolent now after the last 2 years of hell.
"Their barrister, Andrew Twigger KC, said in written submissions that evidence of the test failures was "seriously and obviously flawed" and that a trial should take place, and described the government's claim as "thoroughly bad".
Twigger wants a trial.
The only way Primerdesign / Novacyt can clear their name.
I'm expecting an RNS stating the results of the summary judgement and the implications on DHSC and Primeredsign / Novacyt.
The company said they would keep us informed.
19/4 RNS "The Company will announce the outcome of the application in due course."
If they are not all done with the sj, we might not get the RNS.
If they were serious about a 1 day only hearing, and DHSC have given it their best shot at a summary judgement, then yes, the DHSC sj has failed, and Primerdesign must be given the chance to prove the DHSC testing regime was faulty as stated by Twigger.
So why have we not heard from the company about developments.
Awaiting 7am RNS, - we found out about the hearing in an RNS.
Amers,
From caseboard - DHSC v Primerdesign
30 Apr 2024 09:30 Pre trial review/application hearing
Mrs Justice Jefford.
Court 25.
It stated in caseboard that the hearing was for 1 day, so 'continue at the High Court' possibly means 10 June,
Primerdesign case must go to court.
That's all the hearing was for - to test whether a court case was necessary.
HC - and thats because the NCYT reputation was and still is at stake.
HC - For the sake of product validity and reputational read across to their other products,
NCYT have no choice but to see DHSC claims vanquished.
So
"The court will also hear an application by the DHSC for summary judgment in relation to one aspect of its claim, as part of which the DHSC is seeking judgment." The following is the 'one aspect of the DHSC claim which is the summary judgment':
"Exsig failed at an unacceptable rate due to design and/or manufacturing defects and therefore lacked robustness", Mr Heppinstall told the court.
He said that Exsig tests were analysed in seven NHS laboratories, six of which found a failure rate higher than 10% - including four reporting a failure rate of 25%.
Mr Heppinstall said the tests kits were "unfit for public use" putting the companies in breach of the contract."
+++
If Twigger demolishes this claim, (and NCYT has always been clear their tests were not at fault),
I'm not sure there's much else in the DHSC ammunition locker.
16.06.2022 RNS -
"On 15 June 2022, the Company filed a defence of the claim received on 25 April 2022 and a counterclaim of £81.5m against the DHSC. The value of the counterclaim is broadly in line with the amounts previously announced by the Company in its full year 2020 results, plus related interest."
AFAIK we are seeking £81.5m + interest. not the £69.7 m mentioned in this article.
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted cancer treatments and powerful diagnostics, announces that Christina Coughlin, MD, PhD, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Avacta, effective 1 May 2024.
Why would she immediately get involved in AS's problems when she isn't the CEO this morning.
I think the placing question had to be asked as otherwise InvestorMeet might be accused of avoiding hard questions by it's users - and rightly so.
The detail about the placing might come out as a result of 'everything is on the table' and the needs of a new CEO to show she is willing to deal with shareholder questions fully and fairly, ala efforts to improve comms.
We'll see.
Source - https://uk.investing.com/charts/live-charts live prices.
sp plateauing since 12:15.
That might be because all are at lunch,¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or they're finished.
Eliot possibly a powerful factor in the demise of AS.
He might be fed up with the ex-CEO acting as a loose cannon, or making a wrong decision too many.
He's worked with CC, they quite possibly had speaks about Avacta's CEO position.
SD 'Quite busy', - time to announce a new CEO if there is to be one.