Avacta to launch blood test system

The AX-1 system, known as Midas during its development, will sell for "low thousands" of pounds, and Avacta hopes to earn recurring revenues from consumable test cartridges.

York-based Avacta, which was spun out of the University of Leeds, has plans to launch an AX-1 system to diagnose diseases in cats and horses and also hopes to expand it into endocrine, thyroid and viral infection tests, with the ultimate aim for the device being human blood tests.

The instrument will initially be sold in the UK and European veterinary market through Avacta Animal Health and distributors.

The veterinary diagnostics market is worth at least $1.5bn worldwide and the human point of care testing market is considerably larger at approximately $16bn.

Avacta expects first units to be shipped early in the New Year and to see the recurring revenues from the test cartridge sales grow.

Avacta's chief executive Alastair Smith said: "We believe that AX-1 presents a world-leading solution to the fast-growing market of point of care testing. Our focus in the near term will be on expanding the menu of tests available to run on the AX-1 for the veterinary market.

"But there is also a much bigger opportunity for the AX-1 to address by further developing the product to deliver multiplexed testing and diagnostics for the human market.

"With momentum also gathering in the sales process for Avacta's Optim product, we are now strongly placed to deliver on our plans ."