Avacta prepares product launches as revenue doubles
DRUG technology firm Avacta more than doubled its revenue in the last year as it cut pre-tax losses to £2.03m.
Revenue grew by 120% to £2.07m as the York-based company shipped the first of its Optim analytical devices and benefited from a research partnership with the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
Avacta chief executive Alastair Smith said: “Avacta is now poised to transition from three years of intense product development to the commercialisation of its innovative products that the directors believe will drive future revenue growth and profits.
“The harsh economic climate of the past year has slowed early sales progress of Optim which is, of course, disappointing, but the value proposition of the product is very strong and clearly recognised by customers. Commercial progress is now gathering momentum through our own sales efforts and through the recent appointment of Isogen as a distribution partner in Europe.
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“We have begun to address the US market, which is the largest market for Optim and there has been considerable interest from both customers and potential distribution partners alike.”
Mr Smith said the company would be announcing a “major distribution partner” in the US and would shortly be launching the company’s new diagnostic tool, Midas. It will also be taking a new diagnostic kit product based on the intellectual property of Reactivlab, the company it acquired in March, to market next year.
He added: “It’s going to be a very exciting year for Avacta with good opportunities for growth across the group’s activities and we look forward to reporting on this progress as it unfolds.”
The underlying operating loss at Avacta was cut to £1.53m for the year to the end of July, compared to £1.81m the previous year, while loss per share fell from 0.28p to 0.15p.
