Abingdon Healt. Regulatory News (ABDX)

Abingdon Health plc

("Abingdon Health" or "the Company")

Trading Update

York, U.K. 28 February 2023: Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international lateral flow contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), provides its half-year trading update for the six months ended 31 December 2022.

Highlights

· The Company has successfully transitioned its activities away from COVID-19 and is now operating as a fully integrated CDMO maintaining its full focus on lateral flow testing.

· Strong revenue traction from a diverse range of customers across all aspects of Abingdon's fully integrated CDMO solution, including contract development; technical transfer; manufacturing; and regulatory, quality assurance and commercial support.

· Following Company restructuring and right-sizing, the commercial operations are now benefitting from improved activity with a significant increase in the number of contracts signed across R&D, technical transfer and regulatory support. 

· Revenue of £1.1m for the 6 months to December 2022 (H1 2021: £1.7m) expected to be significantly improved in H2 2023 and FY 2023 revenues are expected to be materially higher than FY 2022 revenues of £2.8m.

· The Company is currently working with a number of new customers across 11 different contract service projects in multiple areas (vs 3 as at 1 July 2022).

· At 31 December 2022, the Company had £4.4m cash. Current cash is in line with the Board's expectations. The primary objective of the Board is to move the Company to a breakeven and cash flow positive position which it forecasts will be achieved in FY 2024.

· The Company's opportunity pipeline is currently robust and the Board believes Abingdon's lateral flow CDMO proposition will continue to yield further contract service opportunities over the course of 2023 and beyond.

Contract services

In December 2022, Abingdon commenced an additional two new technical transfer projects, three new R&D projects, and two new regulatory projects. In addition, the pipeline of commercial opportunities remains robust, and the Board strongly believe the Company's CDMO proposition will continue to yield further contract service opportunities over the course of the calendar year. All of the commercial opportunities currently being worked on are in non-COVID-19 sectors and the business has been successfully transitioned during the second half of calendar 2022 towards what the Directors believe is a much more sustainable long-term business model. Abingdon's automated Yorkshire-based manufacturing facilities are ideally placed to provide scale as the Company moves products through development, technical transfer and into routine production. The Directors' believe the lateral flow market will grow significantly across a range of sectors, including clinical testing, animal health, plant health and environmental testing, as the benefits of self-testing - highlighted by COVID-19 - are extended into a range of other applications.

Abingdon Simply Test

The Abingdon Simply Test range of self-test products was launched online in July 2022. The product range has recently expanded to include a Strep A test and a Flu/Covid combination test. Abingdon is also in the process of broadening the distribution of its self-tests into other channels with the range launched in a major pharmacy chain in Ireland in February 2023. Further distribution channels have been established in H1 2023, including a number of country-specific distribution agreements. The Company is aiming to add additional self-tests, including those developed through its contract service activities, over the rest of FY 2023. Abingdon anticipates launching one of its CDMO customers' tests, the Salignostics SalistickTM saliva pregnancy test, on the Abingdon Simply Test site, in due course and the Directors believe that offering a route to market for self-tests for the Company's contract services customers is another 'added-value' service.

Financial update

Revenues for H1 2022/3 were £1.1m (H1 2021/2: £1.7m). The Company started the second half of the financial year strongly as new contracts have started to generate revenues, and anticipates a significantly improved second half of the financial year. As at 1 July 2022 the Company had three live contract service contracts and by 28 February 2023 this had expanded to eleven with a number of additional opportunities in the pipeline. Cash as of 31 December 2022 was £4.4m which was in line with the Board's expectations. The Board believes the Company will deliver strong revenue growth in FY 2023 compared to FY 2022 revenues of £2.8m. Based on the reduced headcount following the restructuring in 2022, the Board anticipates that the Company's cash burn will reduce significantly, with the objective of achieving cash flow breakeven during FY 2024. The Board remains confident the Group has the financial resources in place to deliver its strategic plan. 

Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health plc, commented:

"We have successfully transitioned our business to a CDMO model focused on the lateral flow market. We are pleased with the commercial traction we are seeing and believe this model will provide a sustainable revenue platform. Our focus remains on revenue growth and achieving cash flow breakeven, and we believe we have the financial resources in place to achieve this."

Dr Chris Hand, Non-Executive Chairman of Abingdon Health plc, said:

"Following the action taken by the Board in the wake of COVID-19 we have maintained the robust status of the business. We have established a great team and a strong platform able to offer lateral flow development and automated manufacturing services to an expanding base of loyal and new customers. We look forward to the next phase of growth for the business towards the achievement of a cash flow positive position. On behalf of the Board of Abingdon Health plc, I would like to thank our colleagues, customers and shareholders for their continued support."

Enquiries

 About Abingdon Health plc

Abingdon Health is a leading lateral flow contract development and manufacturing organisation ("CDMO") offering its services to an international customer base across industry sectors that include clinical, animal health, plant health, and environmental testing. Abingdon Health has the internal capabilities to take projects from initial concept through to routine and large-scale manufacturing; from "idea to commercial success."

The Company's CDMO division offers product development, regulatory support, technology transfer and manufacturing services for customers looking to develop new assays or transfer existing laboratory-based assays to a lateral flow format. Abingdon Health aims to support the increase in need for rapid results across many industries and locations and produces lateral flow tests in areas such as infectious disease, clinical testing including companion diagnostics, animal health and environmental testing. Faster access to results allows for rapid decision making, targeted intervention and can support better outcomes. 

Abingdon Health's Abingdon Simply Test range of self-tests is an ecommerce platform that offers a range of self-tests to empowers consumers to manage their own health and wellbeing. The Abingdon Simply Test ecommerce site offers consumers a range of information to support them in making informed decisions on the tests available. In addition, the site provides Abingdon's contract services customers with a potential route to market for self-tests. The Abingdon Simply Test range is also sold through international distributors and through other channels in the UK and Ireland such as pharmacy chains.

Founded in 2008, Abingdon Health is headquartered in York, England.

For more information visit: www.abingdonhealth.com

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.