Celadon Pharmaceuticals Regulatory News (CEL)

27 Mar 2008 07:00

Celsis International PLC27 March 2008 CELSIS INTERNATIONAL PLC ("Celsis", "the Company" or "the Group") PRE CLOSE TRADING UPDATE STONG GROWTH QUARTER AT CELSIS 27 March 2008: Celsis International plc, the life sciences products andlaboratory services company, today announces an update on trading prior to thecommencement of its close period for the year ended 31 March 2008. The Company has made good progress during the year and has seen strong tradingin the fourth quarter, following its Interim Management Statement updatereleased on 7 February 2008. As a result, the Group overall is on track toannounce revenue and profit growth in line with the Board's expectations for thefinancial year. The Rapid Detection division, which provides rapid microbial detection systemsto more quickly ensure product safety and quality, has seen an excellent fourthquarter building on strong performance earlier in the year. This division'strend of increasing instrument placements and healthy reagent sales continuesacross all market segments as it focuses on expanding its presence in therapidly growing microbial testing market. The Rapid Detection division has finalised the product design of its nextgeneration nucleic acid technology that is complementary to its existingtechnology platform. Test market evaluations are scheduled to initiatefollowing the end of the fiscal year with the launch of the product expectedlater this year. This new, advanced product line is designed to leap-frogexisting nucleic acid testing platforms by significantly simplifying the assayprocedure while providing real-time, specific organism intelligence that willprovide customers a more acute response time to microbial contamination events. This incremental testing capability has been highlighted as a critical need byCelsis customers as product safety, quality and operational efficienciesincreasingly become a major concern for customers. The In Vitro Technologies (Celsis IVT) division, which provides in vitro livercell products and development services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnologyindustries to reduce the time and cost of drug discovery and development, hasalso benefited from a very positive fourth quarter adding to excellent earlierresults. Celsis continues its strategy of aggressive growth for this businessdivision and its first full year results are expected to be on track. Celsis IVT also announced today an exclusive global market development agreementwith Apath LLC, a US based drug discovery company focused on human viraldiseases, to assist customers in the evaluation of drug candidates for theircytotoxicity and efficacy against the Hepatitis C virus. The agreement is basedon the intellectual property portfolio of Apath developed by its founder CharlesM. Rice, Ph.D. and other pioneers in the field. The agreement not only providessizeable incremental revenue potential to Celsis and is consistent with Celsis'position in providing leading technologies to our customers that providecritical information that assists in the drug discovery and development process.(See separate press release). The Analytical Services division, which provides outsourced laboratory testingservices to the pharmaceutical industry, continues to see good progress fromthree of its four segments, but the slowdown of the Celsis New Jersey chemistrybusiness has persisted into the fourth quarter. Although the AnalyticalServices business remains strong overall this division's growth is expected tobe restrained by the New Jersey chemistry business. It is therefore expected tocomplete the full year down marginally against last year's excellent 25%increase in performance. Celsis will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2008,on Wednesday 18 June 2008. There will be a presentation to analysts on the dayat 9.30am, held at Financial Dynamics, Holborn Gate, 26 Southampton Buildings,London, WC2A 1PB. Jay LeCoque, Chief Executive Officer of Celsis, commented: "The increasing and combined strength of the Company is apparent and I ampleased to look forward to a positive year end performance with both revenue andprofit growth in line with the Board's expectations. We have seen a continuedstrengthening of performance, particularly from the Rapid Detection and In VitroTechnologies divisions, and we believe that Celsis is well placed for futuregrowth, both organically and through acquisition opportunities, which wecontinue to review. "As part of our commitment to remaining the global leader in our respectiveindustries, I am particularly optimistic with our market development agreementwith Apath, and I am extremely encouraged by the potential of this new businessventure to help in the fight against Hepatitis C. I am also pleased with ourRapid Detection division's progress with its next generation nucleic acidtechnology and fully expect that this new product line to leap-frog existingtests on the market. These innovative developments underscore our growingstrength in providing our customers with the best technology while offering theease of use that Celsis is known for throughout the industry." Enquiries: Celsis International plc Tel: 01223 598 428Jay LeCoque, Chief Executive OfficerChristian Madrolle, Finance Director and Company Secretary Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7831 3113Ben AtwellDavid Yates Notes to editors Celsis International plc Celsis International plc is a world leading provider of innovative life scienceproducts and laboratory services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, andconsumer products industries through its three business areas; rapid detection,analytical and drug development services and ADME-Tox in vitro technologies.The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CEL.L) Each division of Celsis International plc has the capacity to deliversubstantial time and cost savings to its customers, in addition to ensuringproduct quality and safety for consumers. Celsis Rapid Detection divisionutilises proprietary enzyme technology to develop and supply diagnostic testinginstruments and consumables for the rapid detection of microbial contaminationin pharmaceutical and consumer products. These rapid testing systems providesignificant economic value by reducing the time it takes to test and release rawmaterials, in process and finished goods to market. Celsis Analytical Servicesdivision provides cost effective outsourced laboratory testing services topharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Its comprehensive serviceofferings include a full spectrum of laboratory services from drug developmentand discovery to analytical chemistry and biological sciences to stabilitystorage and testing. Celsis In Vitro Technologies (Celsis IVT) employsproprietary expertise in hepatocyte (liver cell) technology to supply in vitrotesting products to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. CelsisIVT's consumable testing products screen drug compounds for liver toxicity earlyin the drug discovery process, thereby reducing the time and cost of furtherdevelopment or trial on those compounds which will not be properly metabolisedby the human liver. Further information can be found on its website at www.celsis.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange