1 Mar 2021 07:00
Yourgene Health plc
("Yourgene" or the "Group" or the "Company")
First US Supply Agreement for Coastal Genomics' Technology Signed with Major Strategic Partner
Manchester, UK - 1 March 2021: Yourgene (AIM: YGEN), the international molecular diagnostics group, announces that Yourgene Health Inc., the Company's wholly-owned US subsidiary, has signed a supply agreement ("the Agreement") with a large US clinical laboratory group ("the Partner"). The Agreement is worth an estimated $1.5m over five years to Yourgene and grants the Partner non-exclusive access to the Company's Ranger® Technology which Yourgene gained as part of acquisition of Coastal® Genomics Inc. ("Coastal") in August 2020.
The Agreement grants the Partner non-exclusive rights to integrate the Ranger® enrichment technology into their proprietary reproductive health diagnostic screening pathway, to support their US-wide clinical laboratory network. The Agreement enables use of the technology for the field of reproductive health, with the potential to expand into other applications such as oncology in the future.
Coastal was acquired in August 2020 to allow Yourgene to bring its size selection and DNA enrichment technology to the US, Canadian and other international markets as a complement to the Company's reproductive health products, services and technologies. The technology, and Coastal's broader commercial pipeline in North America, also accelerate the Company's diversification into the oncology market and wider DNA sample preparation markets.
Under the terms of the Coastal acquisition, this Agreement meets the criteria for a Qualifying Commercial Agreement with a Strategic Partner, triggering the first earn-out milestone from that acquisition. Consequently, approximately 5 million shares in Yourgene will be issued to the selling shareholders of Coastal within the next 28 days, which will be subject to orderly market provisions for the next 12 months. Further details of this equity issuance will be announced shortly once the legal details have been finalised.
Lyn Rees, CEO of Yourgene commented: "We are very pleased to announce this first important validation by a strategic partner for our recently acquired new technology. We continue to believe that this is a key technology platform for our entry into the US diagnostics market, the largest in the world. We respect the Partner's preference to remain unidentified as it affirms their perception of Coastal's Ranger® Technology as a competitive advantage."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. The Directors of the Company take responsibility for this announcement.
Yourgene Health plc Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +44 (0)161 669 8122 investors@yourgene-health.com | ||
Barry Hextall, Chief Financial Officer |
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Joanne Cross, Director of Marketing |
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7213 0880 | ||
Liam Murray / James Caithie / Ludovico Lazzaretti |
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N+1 Singer (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 | ||
Aubrey Powell / Tom Salvesen / George Tzimas |
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Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7710 7600 | ||
Nicholas Moore / Matthew Blawat / Ben Maddison |
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Walbrook PR Ltd (Media and Investor Relations) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or yourgene@walbrookpr.com | ||
Paul McManus / Lianne Cawthorne | Mob: 07980 541 893 / Mob: 07584 391 303 | ||
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About Yourgene Health
Yourgene Health is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops and commercialises genetic products and services. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.
Yourgene primarily develops, manufactures, and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, for reproductive health, precision medicine and now infectious diseases. The Group's flagship products include non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down's Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests, and a recent extension into the oncology space with DPYD genotyping.
The launch of Yourgene Genomic Services has enabled Yourgene to offer a global laboratory service network equipped to be a full life-cycle partner for clinical, research and pharmaceutical organisations to support partners at the preclinical, clinical, and post-market stages to develop, manufacture, obtain regulatory approval and commercialise new products and services. In addition, Yourgene Genomic Services offers an NIPT and high throughput COVID testing service.
In August 2020, Yourgene acquired Coastal Genomics, Inc., a sample preparation technology company based in Vancouver, Canada, enabling the Company to extend its offering and IP portfolio in the DNA sample preparation sector. The acquisition increased Yourgene's geographical penetration into the US and Canada, supplementing existing coverage in the UK, Europe, MEA and Asia.
Yourgene Health is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices in Taipei, Singapore, the US and Canada, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "YGEN". For more information visit www.yourgene-health.com and follow us on twitter @Yourgene_Health.