JOBS LOST IN FIRM'S U.S. MOVE

DAVID ELKS

12:00 - 02 July 2003

A Medical research company has shut down its South Cheshire headquarters, despite winning 900,000 of orders for technology to help fight the deadly Sars virus. An undisclosed number of staff at Crewe-based Osmetech have been made redundant after the company transferred its research operations to America.

The news comes as the company reported a boom in sales of a blood gas analyser to China over the past month to monitor patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).
A spokesman for Osmetech, which employs 38 staff at the town's business park, said the decision followed a 2.2 million deal to take over pharmaceutical giant Roche's sensor division OPTI in March.
He said: "When they bought the company they also took on about 50 new staff involved in research and marketing.
"It was felt that Osmetech is still a fairly small company and having research operations split between the two sites was not efficient."

Following the move, the majority of research will now be conducted at OPTI's headquarters in Atlanta, while the company's registered headquarters has shifted to London.
This will enable the company to continue its listing on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market. The executive directors will also be based in London.
The spokesman said that a number of workers in the North-West of England will remained involved in research while working from home.

The news comes as the company confirmed it had picked up 910,000 of orders for its equipment following the Sars virus outbreak in the Far East.
The handheld device cannot diagnose the virus, although it has optical sensors which can measure vital bodily conditions during treatment of its pneumonia-like symptoms. It measures blood gas, electrolyte and metabolite levels and can be used for measuring the oxygen saturation and acid-base balance in Sars patients.
Osmetech said this would be particularly useful in cases where treatment required the use of a ventilator for "supplemental oxygen" therapy.

The deal will help Osmetech, which is estimated by analysts Evolution Beeson Gregory to suffer losses of 3.2 million in the current financial year, push its way towards profitability. The orders received this month are already 10 times higher than the last financial year.

In January the company confirmed it had won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its sensor, which uses electronics technology to 'sniff' out bacteria which can cause miscarriages - a market worth between 900 million and 1.2 billion in the U.S.

The group cut losses by 20 per cent to 533,000 in the six months to January and is due to report its annual figures on July 30.

david.elks@thesentinel.co.uk

and this is the distributor that Bucketfull mentions



http://www.lucronbioproducts.com/Vl/Menu.htm'

Post on @mple by BRUMMELL, well worth reading:

"I think that your comments reflect well the range of risk that different investors are prepared to bear. Some investors will be prepared to take a high level of risk in return for potentially high returns. Others will be more risk averse and will look at the current value of the company in relation to the shareprice and will not factor in much future potential until it happens. I think that you are right and that the current price is probably well supported by the OPTI fundamentals. That leaves us to assess the chances of OMH penetrating a market worth at least US$1.4bn to US$1.9bn PER ANNUM (see page 9 of offer/placing prospectus). The potential rewards of this venture are enormous. The path has not been smooth up to now and will doubtless have its problems in future but, IMHO, we are significantly closer to those rewards than we have ever been in the past.

To demonstrate why so many investors are prepared to take a risk with OMH lets do a few sums on the back of an envelope. The figures are so big that we don't need to be too precise and we can afford to underestimate for prudence. Even if OMH were to capture only 10% of the $1.4-$1.9bn market that would mean revenues of say $140m pa. A modest p/e ratio of say 15 would give us a market cap of over $2.1bn. The current market cap is about $33m so even on those modest figures we would be looking at a share price of say 2.80. The capitalisation figures are by no means outlandish in terms of US biotech growth (eg Amgen now at 59bn). The calculations are outrageously modest. Such is the nature of the product that the market penetration is likely to be much higher than 10%. The projected figures make no allowance for other applications that we know are in the pipeline and make no allowance for the highter rate of growth that would come from the vastly increased return on capital. Any negative aspects such as the need to raise more funds fade into insignificance, especially if done by way of debt. IMHO the management of OMH is second to none; it is mature in judgement, shrewd, financially prudent, willing to take risks and opportunistic. With every day that passes we get closer to the combined device coming to market. IMHO the risk today is lower than it has ever been in the past yet the price is near its lows, despite the fact it is underpinned by the OPTI fundamentals. At the current price you are getting all of the potential virtually for free.

IMHO again, next week's results will be a blockbuster because they will make all of the above clear to the market at large. They will also establish the management's credentials by showing what they have done with a $2.5m investment in just four short months. There may well also be other high quality good news on developments.

I hope, JJW, that the above goes some way to explaining why there is a hard core of investors in OMH who are prepared to back their own judgement that the risk is far less than the market currently rates it.

Let's hoep so, but without taking it personally where is the evidence that the management is up to the job? Not much so far on their traditional product....Their sensor has been about for many years and still nothing! They have shafted their loyal staff in Crewe and their loyal shareholders ( who put good money into PEP/ISA's only to have it destroyed before and as they moved to AIM ). One suspects the reason to change to AIM was the proposed move to the US, only a hunch you understand and time always tells the truth. Does a Full-listing mean you have to be resident here, in the UK?

Maybe they will get 10% of the market, but that is a huge rise in their circumstances and frankly, I don't believe it. They aren't known there, they have few contacts and they are a bunch of immigrants. I think it will take some time for them to get used to the culture, the cut and thrust, but heck - I'm always wrong, goodbuddy!

OMH is moving again folks - some good news in the pipeline (so the rumours have it). This could be a 5 to 10 bagger over the next 2 years - worth a closer look.

OMH has fallen away since August as is usual with small companies not in the news.

It is now heading for a support level just below 3p. At that level it will again present a buying opportunity IMO.

The OPTI bllod gas analyser seems to be a very useful device but news of sales is not available.

No news updates ar expected in the near future.

With OMH located in the US, a Nasdaq listing seems probable at some time IMO.

Fly by Night

Red

Any comments on why the sharp rise today? And what will happen in this week?

OMH have just sold 66 and a half million shares to institutions at the healthy price of 3p per share.

This increases the amount of instutional backing and hence reduces the risk for the rest of us.

The 2M will be used as follows:

James White, Chief Executive of Osmetech said,

"These funds raised will enable Osmetech to push ahead with its well-defined
product development programmes for the OPTI business, which has been
satisfactorily integrated into the Group and continues to perform ahead of
expectations. We plan to introduce new products over the next 9-18 months that
should enable this business to grow substantially.

"This additional cash will also strengthen our negotiating position with
potential partners and with respect to future M&A activity.

OMH is pushing gradually into a different league - they could attract a lot more interest for the rest of this week.

there has been alot of activity in these shares over the last few days ..shares have been heading in the upward direction .. does anyone hve any ideas or reasons for this ..

i hold these ..but am not aware of anything impending

maybe ugly duckling turn into a swan?? what can i say ,this is MY FATE!! :-((
9 month ago,i sensed maybe something would happened to the company that i gambled 90% of my trading fund into it hopping to get my trading account alive
again,(assumed 5 bagger in a year time),hence i lost the summer`s market rally!!! recently i dumped most of it , a mere 10%+ gains?

Suspected SAR`s case reoccuring in China,any link for OMH price raised today?

Latest Buyer vs Seller=9:1 on 3m+ shares traded. #10.10am.#

It appears to be the rush before the inevitable price hikes in the New Year bull run in preparation for the interims.

The interims will include 6 months OPTI sales (one month brought in US$1m and that was before SARs and China).

Watch macd & Roc, there seems have some positive signals appear, DYOR.

WATCH the trading Volume!! seems someone want to do something to curb the Price raising ups. :-)

already take off! one of my candidate for 2004 stock-picker competition.

OMH ,Oh! why few people bother to have a look at it? Few years back,this stock
priced at 30ish just based on some maybe big time hit concept onto the medicial
world,now the company begins to deliver some real stuff,and the price starts
moving ups.but how high it can goes this time then? DYOR.

Have you guys heard the latest rumours? - all over Dublin apparently. 10p bid rejected and 15p unconditional is one of the more detailed variants.