Carclo to halt investment in diagnostics to focus on growth areas

The Ossett-based firm said a review of the diagnostics solutions business (CDS) found an increasing level of future investment would be needed to develop a wider range of assays. It also had concerns around costs, how long it would take the market to buy products and the certainty of future commercialisation.

Carclo said the review “did not identify a credible strategic option” to take the business forward, nor did it identify new investors.

As a result Carclo has decided to discontinue its investment in CDS, currently £1.5m a year.

Chris Malley, Carclo CEO, said: “The group’s core focus and growth opportunities sit within our two main divisions, technical plastics and LED technologies, both of which are performing well and have excellent and exciting prospects.

“While CDS’s technical progress has been consistent with our published road map, the board considers that now is the appropriate time to withdraw funding from this business, given the uncertainty over its future commercial success and the financial commitment required to take it forward.”

Carclo expects to incur an eventual closure expense of around £1m. The group intends to absorb the CDS intellectual property rights within the technical plastics division whilst it explores options to sell or license these rights.

The group sees “excellent growth prospects” in its technical plastics and LED technologies divisions and sees them as the key drivers of future performance.