Source BioScience Interim Management Statement
Unless otherwise stated, the financial information referenced below refers to the three months ended 30 September 2012, and the corresponding period last year, this being the latest practicable date to which financial information has been prepared.
Overall business performance
The third quarter of 2012 has been another period of sustained growth and development for Source BioScience with increased revenue in both the LifeSciences and Healthcare divisions, compared with the same period last year.
This performance has been underpinned by growth in the Cytology business, driven by the adoption of automated imaging for cervical cancer screening, coupled with increasing market share for DNA sequencing in the UK.
The Group remains in a robust financial position with £2.0 million cash at the end of September 2012 (30 June 2012: £1.8 million).
Overall performance for the year to date is in line with management’s expectations, representing a continuation of the strong business performance achieved last year. We expect full year profits to be in line with market expectations.
LifeSciences division
The Overnight Service for DNA sequencing has enabled the Group to further increase its share of the UK market. Sequencing volumes during Q3 were 27% greater than the same period last year and 46% up on a year to date basis. This enhanced service has also enabled the Group to win sequencing tenders from the Universities of Warwick and Newcastle.
In July we announced an extended next generation sequencing service using the new Illumina MiSeq™ platform. This platform addresses the “middle ground” between the Group’s existing sequencing technologies and has already attracted customers from both the life science research and healthcare communities.
GenomeCube®, our proprietary search engine and bioinformatics tool for our clone and antibody portfolio, has enabled the appointment of additional distributors, extending the global reach of our products business. In August we announced the appointment of a third distributor in the important South East Asia market, Benebiosis of South Korea, and in the period we appointed a fourth distributor in the region, Michrom of Malaysia. During the period we further enhanced our network in Europe with additional distributors appointed in Turkey, Italy and Poland.
Healthcare division
Demand for our liquid based cytology (‘LBC’) service, which supports 50% of the Cervical Cancer Screening Programme for England and Wales, continues to be strong. The roll out of the BD FocalPoint™ automated imaging platform for cervical cancer screening has driven growth in the Cytology business. In the short term, we expect a number of additional NHS Trusts to adopt this imaging technology.
Molecular diagnostic testing continues to gain clinical relevance and importance in the NHS, especially gene-based companion diagnostic testing. Companion diagnostic testing provides information about how a patient might respond to a particular drug therapy. One of the most widely utilised tests is the K-RAS gene test for colorectal cancer and demand in the period was up more than 70% compared with the same period last year.
Source BioScience is one of only a few accredited laboratories in Europe with the capability to deliver this type of complex diagnostic testing and the growing demand strengthens the Group’s commercial advantage.
To conclude, the Group has made good progress in the period and we expect full year profits to be in line with market expectations.
For further information, please contact:
Source BioScience plc
Dr Nick Ash, CEO
Tel: +44 (0) 115 973 9010
Email: enquiries@sourcebioscience.com
www.sourcebioscience.com
College Hill (PR Agency to Source BioScience)
Melanie Toyne-Sewell/Stefanie Bacher/Henry Stanley
Tel: +44 (0) 207 457 2020
Email: sourcebioscience@collegehill.com
About Source BioScience:
Source BioScience plc (LSE: SBS) is an international diagnostics and genetic analysis business serving the healthcare and research markets. The LifeSciences division provides core laboratory research support from conceptualisation to implementation, calling upon a wide range of cutting-edge technology platforms including the world’s largest online catalogue of biomolecular tools. The Group is a trusted provider of a complete range of sophisticated microarray, next generation and conventional sequencing services. GLP, GCP and CPA accreditations make the sequencing offerings very attractive for applications in regulatory studies or clinical settings. The Healthcare operations provide screening and reference laboratory diagnostic testing for cancer and other diseases and additional predictive testing for treatment optimisation for clinicians and patients. The Group has its headquarters in Nottingham, UK. Further information about Source BioScience can be found at www.sourcebioscience.com
Disclaimer
The Interim Management Statement may contain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from any outcomes or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Source BioScience speak only as at the date they are made and no representation or warranty is given in relation to them, including as to their completeness or accuracy or the basis on which they were prepared. Source BioScience does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in the Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.