7th Jun 2007 10:35
For further information, please contact:
Medical Solutions plc Dr Nick Ash Managing Director Tel: 0115 973 9010 www.medical-solutions.co.uk Bishopsgate Communications Ltd Nick Rome / Sophie Davis Tel: 0207 562 3350 www.bishopsgatecommunications.com7 June 2007 Medical Solutions plc (`Medical Solutions' or the `Group') Annual General Meeting Statement
Laurie Turnbull, Chairman of Medical Solutions, will be making the following statement at the 2007 Annual General Meeting today:
General Statement
This is my first AGM as Chairman of Medical Solutions and I am delighted to report that a great deal of progress has been made both in the year and since the financial year end, and that the Group is now significantly stronger, both financially and operationally, than it has ever been. November 2006 saw the completed disposal of Dubai operations, which now enables the full focus of the Directors and senior management to be targeted towards the achievement of the key strategic aims I outlined to shareholders in March of this year.
An important step in achieving our aim to be a leading provider of healthcare and diagnostic services was announced this morning, with the proposed acquisition of Geneservice Limited. Geneservice is a profitable, cash generative and expanding company offering a comprehensive portfolio of genomic products and services. The acquisition benefits the Group by providing an enhanced service offering to include DNA and RNA based technologies which are in demand from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. We also aim to realise cost benefits by the consolidation of certain operations to our reference laboratories in Nottingham.
Trading Update
The Group's results for the year ended 31 December 2006 demonstrate that significant progress has been made in the continuing operations of the Group. The Board remains committed to the achievement of profitability and cash generation through organic growth of the existing business, in combination with selected acquisitions.
Pathology Services
In the Diagnostic Pathology business, the continued growth in HER2 testing volumes and a full year's benefit from the consolidation of operations onto a single site in Nottingham, coupled with the ongoing strong cost control in other areas, has led to a significantly improved operating performance for this part of the business.
The Board has targeted the expansion of its offering in Diagnostic Pathology which has seen the introduction of tailored packages of diagnostic and theranostic tests, the first of these being the Medical Solutions Breast Cancer Decision Making Tool.
The restructuring of Drug Development Services and ongoing focus on the underlying costs have continued to realise benefits for this area of the business during the year. We have refocused our sales and marketing activity resulting in an increased conversion from sales to project proposals during the second half of the year, with a notable increased interest in the use of biomarkers in this sector.
Liquid Based Cytology ("LBC")
Cytology has become a genuine success story for Medical Solutions with the division exceeding original expectations in respect of market share, and is now expected to achieve 47% of the market for LBC in England and Wales. We are at the forefront of cervical cancer screening in the UK, supplying LBC equipment, consumables and technical support to Hospital Trusts throughout the UK. The next stage of our Cytology strategy is to accelerate the introduction of automated cytology screening and we have initiated a number of clinical trials to support this strategy.
Number One Health Group Limited
On 3 April 2007 Medical Solutions acquired a 40% shareholding in the private healthcare provider Number One Health and this investment provides a channel through which Medical Solutions can market its existing portfolio of diagnostic tests directly to the public. Additionally, diagnostic testing that is currently outsourced by Number One Health can be performed at Medical Solutions' reference laboratories in Nottingham.
Geneservice Limited
Medical Solutions announced today that it has conditionally agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Geneservice Limited for a total consideration of ‚£3.86 million payable in cash and loan notes. Geneservice's expertise in genomic based products and services will greatly enhance the Group's diagnostic offering and be a valuable addition to our growing portfolio of diagnostic services
The Board believes that satisfactory progress has been made towards the achievement of our short-term aims and looks forward to updating shareholders further following the release of our interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2007.
Notes to Editors
Medical Solutions plc
Medical Solutions is a fully listed UK based diagnostics and healthcare business specialising in the provision of diagnostic pathology and cytology services and products to the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. It has internationally recognised expertise in histopathology with advanced technology in image analysis, high throughput quantitative protein expression and biomarker determination. For more information about Medical Solutions please visit www.medical-solutions.co.uk
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