23 Jul 2014 07:00
Horizon Discovery Group plc
Trading Update
Cambridge, UK - 23rd July 2014: Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) ("Horizon" or the "Company"), the international life science company supplying research tools and services to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalized medicines, today announces a trading update ahead of its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014. The Company reports that revenue for the six month period was £4.06 million, 36 per cent ahead of the equivalent period in the prior year (six months to 30 June 2013: £2.98 million) in line with current market expectations.
The revenue includes approximately one month of revenue consolidation from Horizon CombinatoRx Incorporated ("CombinatoRx") formed following the acquisition of the combination high-throughput screening business and assets from Zalicus Incorporated (NASDAQ:ZLCS) which completed on 2 June 2014. The full impact of the acquisition on revenue will be felt in the second half of the year.
Product and service revenues of £3.49 million were 63 per cent ahead of last year (six months to 30 June 2013: £2.14 million) with genome-editing services, discovery research services and molecular diagnostic reagent products continuing to be strong drivers of growth.
Leveraged R&D service revenue of £568,000 was 75 per cent ahead of last year (six months to 30 June 2013: £325,000). This revenue represents contributions from customers to joint drug discovery alliances, from which the Company is eligible to receive future pre-clinical and clinical R&D milestones of up to £158 million (excluding future product royalties), a 27.5% increase following the addition of £34.12 million during the period. It is not anticipated that any R&D milestones will fall in 2014 (six months to 30 June 2013: £523,000).
The key driver of this strong performance is the increased global demand for research tools, services and intellectual property (e.g. drug targets, drug biomarkers drug candidates) that enable the translation of human genome sequencing data into innovative medicines and companion diagnostic tests that improve clinical outcomes for patients and economic outcomes for drug developers, healthcare insurers and the tax payer alike.
The Company intends to announce its interim results on September 23rd.
Dr. Darrin M. Disley, Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Discovery Group, commented:
"This has been a strong start to the financial year and we are encouraged by Horizon's progress versus the objectives set at our recent IPO. As stated following the acquisition of CombinatoRx on June 2nd our financial year revenues will be weighted towards the second half of the year. Based on trading during the first six months we are confident of delivering a strong performance for the year.
"Horizon has transformed from a fast growing privately held business to a successfully listed international company with approaching 1,000 customers around the world. The Company has focused intensely on delivering its strategy as set out at the time of the IPO to become a fully-integrated life science company providing service, product and R&D solutions to customers engaged in all stages of the personalized medicine paradigm from "sequence to treatment". To this end, we are delighted to have completed an accretive acquisition and expanded our genome-editing intellectual property portfolio both of which broaden our capabilities and commercial offerings into adjacent markets not previously addressed. We will continue to deliver against this strategy during the second half of this year.
"We have also further strengthened our Board with the appointment of Dr Susan Galbraith and Mrs. Susan Searle, two highly experienced business leaders with directly relevant experience of our key customer demographics and the public markets. In line with our strategy we have also continued to build our sales, marketing and distribution footprint in European, North-American and Asia-Pacific markets. We are encouraged by current trading and excited by the year ahead."
ENDS
For further information from Horizon Discovery Group plc, please contact:
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor Relations)
Amber Bielecka / Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Panmure Gordon & Co. (NOMAD)
Corporate Finance: Freddy Crossley / Duncan Monteith / Fred Walsh
Broking: Tom Salvesen
Tel: +44 20 7886 2500
Notes for Editors
About Horizon Discovery www.horizondiscovery.com/
Horizon is a revenue-generating life science company supplying research tools to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalized medicines. Horizon has a diverse and international customer base approaching 1,000 organizations across nearly 50 countries, including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies as well as leading academic research centers. The Company supplies its products and services into multiple markets, estimated to total in excess of £29 billion by 2015.
Horizon's core capabilities are built around its proprietary translational genomics platform, GENESIS™, a high-precision and flexible suite of gene editing tools able to alter almost any endogenous gene sequence of human or mammalian cell-lines. Horizon offers almost 2,200 products, almost all of which are based on the application of GENESIS™ to generate cell lines that accurately model the disease-causing mutations found in genetically based diseases. These 'patients-in-a-test-tube' are being used by customers to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, which may lead to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently available and future drug treatments.
In addition, Horizon provides GENASSIST™ CRISPR and rAAV gene editing tools, custom cell line generation services for research and bioproduction applications, quantitative molecular reference standards, contract research and custom screening services, custom shRNA development services and off-the-shelf validated shRNA (through Horizon's partner Sirion), and haploid cell lines (through Horizon's partner Haplogen). These latter partnerships provide Horizon with almost 11,000 further products for our customers.
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "HZD", for further information please visit: www.horizondiscovery.com.