Avacta boosted by sale of second Optim device in US

The York-based group, which has developed analytical technology to speed up and reduce the cost of drug development, hopes sales of its flagship Optim device will take off after securing big name distributors in North America and Japan.

Avacta yesterday said its distributor Pall Corporation has sold its first device to a top 10 US pharmaceutical giant. The deal means Avacta has already hit its Optim sales target for the year.

Chief executive Alastair Smith said: “The US is the major market for Optim and I am delighted with the energetic and proactive start that Pall has made as our commercial partner in North America.

“The urgency with which the Pall team has undertaken sales and support training, the successful delivery of marketing events that have had a positive impact on the number of sales leads and the closing of the first sale following a trial of the instrument by the customer, is very encouraging.

“The order means we have already met the target of twelve Optim sales in the current year. I look forward to reporting on further sales in due course and on the wider development of the commercial relationship with Pall.”

Shares in the company rose 5.7 per cent to close at 1.12p.

Optim allows drug developers to gain vital information about compounds using tiny samples, more cheaply and quickly than other methods. Optim can do tests simultaneously – the work of three or four instruments – in just 75 to 90 minutes. Rival processes can take about 18 days.

“Such efficiencies and cost reductions should allow drug developers to routinely gain important insights into candidate drug compounds at a much earlier stage of development,” said the group.

“This in turn leads to a significant reduction in the likelihood of failure of drug compounds and reduces the overall costs of bringing new drugs to market.”

Optim comprises a benchtop instrument and a single-use sample holder.

Pall Life Sciences, which provides products and services to the biopharma and biotech industries, was appointed North American distributor in February. Since then it has been working with Avacta to generate new sales leads for Optim. Avacta sold its first Optim device in the US in January.

Avacta said since Pall’s appointment, the Optim sales pipeline in the US has doubled. Avacta added it has also completed the first phase of training for Pall’s sales and support teams.

Avacta recently said revenues rose by 12 per cent in six months to the end of January to £1m. Pre-tax losses halved to £597,000.

It is targeting an analytical and services industry estimated to be worth $200bn (£121bn) by 2013, making it the fastest growing part of the pharmaceutical industry.