Member Info for Muck165

I think so yes. ABC19 worked, but never progressed with govt because DHSC never told MRHA there was a critical need for it. GLP didn’t help, placing focus on the contracts, leading DHSC to commission an audit of ABDX work with a view to chipping price. Ultimately that happened with the settlement agreement getting us around £2m less than was owed, excluding interest. We no doubt agreed that because we needed the cash.

Yep - see para 245 of the judgment

l245 -Here, DHSC and Abingdon to some extent blame each other for problems in this evaluation process. It appears to be common ground at least that Abingdon submitted a Clinical Performance Study Protocol document to MHRA which involved a trial of over 1500 individuals sitting in their own cars. The trial was supervised by Ulster University professionals. This yielded excellent results but MHRA wanted trials conducted by people at home. Abingdon then submitted results from a home-testing trial but at that point MHRA had stopped the process. The reason was said to be the absence of a “critical clinical need” for antibody LFTs on a mass basis which MHRA said the government should have provided by that stage but it had not. A letter to that effect had to have come from DHSC, but it never did.”

Did ABC19 really fail. I might be wrong, but having read the judgment I seem to recall that the main reason the MRHA refused to give home use approval was because the trials done by Ulster University had people taking the tests in their car, rather than at home. I think I’m right because I remember being annoyed by it!

I’ve noticed that the DHSC charge is still showing as outstanding at Companies House - hoping this is just bureaucratic delay….?

Don’t agree Spades - the motion will fail. But I think that will only be because Tories are being severely strong armed by the whip. The margin within the vote will be telling though….

Can AVCT choose to repay all or part of the bond at any time prior to conversion, over and above the scheduled amortisation?

Noting that our Dx business is at MEDICA in November. Also saw that David Wilson was at a BIVDA summit meeting this week, introducing a chap from a company called Ultapolymer to speaking about how to optimise the production, use and life cycle of plastic components in diagnostics because design, materials and production can work in tandem to introduce significant benefits and efficiencies into products.

I’d also kind of written Dx off, but agree Wiggly that there’s clearly life in it.

Just checked the last Group accounts. Accusay is not a subsid. Sorry. Only subsids are

Launch Diagnostics France SAS
Launch Diagnostics Ltd

Noting as well that one of the companies listed as a manufacturer on the Launch site (Accusay) is actually a division of Launch itself. We are buying the Launch holding company, so presumably this comes with the package!

One highly ignorant question I'm sure, but would the Directors of ABDX have been allowed to buy (recently) significant stock in ABDX if they knew a takeover was coming?

Jut for interest really, but Launch does appear to count PHE and NHS Supply Chain as customers

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search/Results?page=1#6df22c68-eb3c-4fe4-b856-f7050c2027fa

Didn't take long

Absolutely Timster - very small discouunt suggests great news ahead to me

Met last week with our climate change minister.

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/03939d70-4ec1-4330-bf81-52f972aa9eb8

Starts about 10.09 and the interesting bits are through the first half hour, particularly around 10.34. I think it’s a must watch for any IGAS investor. My impression was very much that the minister is very much pro fracking, and I noted in particular his comment that new legislation may not be required to force through govt proposals (which reduces the risk impact of a back bench Tory rebellion)

Another from Jeremy, this time on earthquake risk..

https://www.jeremyhunt.org/earthquake-risk-fracking

Odd that Joe Hunts own web page seems quite positive on Fracking….

Maybe just not in his back yard…

https://www.jeremyhunt.org/fracking-planning

I’m not sure this was ever in doubt, but confirmation here that companies with existing fracking licenses will not require any further licenses.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-09-22/54585

I noticed that at the end of July, AS was appointed as a Director of SPARTA BIodiscovery Limited, which appears to be a spin out from research work done at Imperial. They’re involved in offering technology to accelerate the development and production of nanoparticles used in advanced medicines.

Anyway, I’m no scientist and so don’t really know if this is at all relevant to AVCT, so I’m just throwing out to the rest of you to see what, if anything, you make of it!

Alistair is quoted in this piece from a few days ago saying

“ Dr Alastair Smith, SPARTA Biodiscovery Chair and CEO of the AIM-listed biotechnology company Avacta, said: “As far as we’re aware, SPARTA is the only technology that can deliver chemical information on nanoparticles at this level of detail. This makes it an exciting proposition for customers – who can use it to develop drugs more quickly and at lower risk – and for investors. Ultimately what excites us and gets us going is the prospect of helping bring next-generation drugs to market and the positive impact this will have on patients.” (Thought that last sentence was interesting!)

https://statnano.com/news/71452/New-Startup-to-Help-Pharmaceutical-Companies-Develop-Nanoparticle-Medicines

https://spartabiodiscovery.com/

@pumpky - in a rush this morning so apologise for being vague.

If I remember correctly, ABDX were actually paid about £4.7m in respect of April and June 20 contracts. They were not paid amounts owing under the August 20 supply contract and it was that which gave rise to their dispute with the DHSC, which was ultimately settled in April for I think £6.7m mot so. But of that, £1.5m remained charged to the DHSC pending conclusion of the GLP case.

Yesterdays ruling contained no further awards to ABDX, or at all. It just found DHSC had acted legally. The only consequences for ABDX are 1) the release of £1.5m which it already had, but couldn’t use and 2) clearing of ABDX name.

There is no further money coming our way.

Thanks for posting…

I’ve only skipped over this but it seems very much to me that the GLP case was utter tosh, riddled with serious factual inaccuracies and slurs, which have now been shown as such by the evidence.

In truth I think work of an organisation like the GLP creates a valuable balance to govt abuse of power, but in conducting that work the GLP also have responsibilities only to pursue those cases where wrongdoing is evident. Here they followed their nose, sniffing along behind media tripe, in the hope of finding wrongdoing. In the end their failings have been highlighted, but the process cost hardworking ABDX staff, who dropped everything for ABC19, their jobs, and put a respected company in serious financial strife.

Jolyon Maugham would be vociferous in seeking apologies where due. Perhaps he might have some decency and apologise for the complete ****** he caused.