Epistem unfazed by income dip

BIOTECH company Epistem Holdings is reporting performance broadly in line with expectations, despite a fall in income to £4.5m (2014: £5.8m) following a challenging year for the services operations.

In its preliminary results for the year ended June 30, the Manchester company, which parted company with its CEO Matthew Wells in August, reported “excellent progress” with its Genedrive test for hepatitis C diagnosis and the launch of the company’s tuberculosis (TB) and associated antibiotic resistance test.

However, the company  – following the high levels of investment made in Genedrive – reported an Operating loss of £4m (2014: £2.3m Operating loss).

Highlights included the award  The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to its Indian distribution partner, Xcelris Labs, of an import licence in respect of its TB and associated antibiotic resistance test for use on the Genedrive instrument.

There was also the successful conclusion of the US Department of Defense assessment  of Genedrive for use in the detection of harmful human pathogens, followed by the announcement in August 2015 of funding of up to $7.8m (£5.0m)  over five years, the first $2.4m (£1.5m) stage of which is due for completion during calendar year 2016.

Chairman and CEO Dr Ian Gilham said: “The year represented a decisive period of transition for Epistem with key steps in the development and launch of Genedrive, our novel, versatile and rapid point of care molecular testing platform for use in diagnosing infectious diseases, patient stratification and other molecular diagnostic applications.

“The excellent progress with Genedrive has, however, been partly tempered by reduced turnover in the established services business divisions of the company, which to date has represented the majority of our revenues.

“Genedrive represents a significant breakthrough in low cost molecular testing technology, and design, and offers the prospect of a substantial and disruptive entry to the market for diagnostic devices.
 
“The company has taken time to develop this technology platform and has invested heavily but judiciously in developing its technical expertise, allowing us to address the challenges of delivering molecular testing results from small tissue samples where there is limited access to laboratory equipment.”