The potential for growth is enormous here with the added incentive of Roche involvement

Osmetech wins $700,000 sales deal in China
By Marianne Brun-Rovet
Published: April 29 2003 12:07 | Last Updated: April 29 2003 12:07


Osmetech, the manufacturer of "electronic nose" sensors for healthcare applications, has secured a sales deal with China to assess Sars patients.


The deal, worth an initial $700,000, will use Osmetech's OPTI blood gas analysers to aid in the monitoring of Sars, which has so far infected more than 2,000 people in China.

James White, chief executive, said the deal with China was "a bit of a moving feast" as the government increased orders by the day. "There has been some interest from other governments in the region but there is much uncertainty."

The OPTI analysers are portable instruments incorporating optical sensors for blood gas, electrolyte and metabolite analysis. One of the instruments 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 of supplemental oxygen therapy.

The instrument can also be used to detect blood gas variations that frequently occur in Sars patients, but Osmetech said it was not a diagnostic tool. Osmetech acquired Roche's Atlanta-based OPTI product line of blood gas analysers in a deal worth $3.5m three weeks ago.
Tris

Not one for me ..... never understand bios but just seen this from US news feed


Tuesday April 29, 9:07 AM EDT

LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Osmetech Plc, a small British medical devices maker, said on Tuesday it had won an initial $700,000 of sales with the Chinese government for instruments to help monitor patients with the deadly SARS virus.

The deal covers Osmetech's range of OPTI blood gas analyser instruments, which help monitor critically ill patients on breathing ventilators, such as those suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Osmetech bought the OPTI business from Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROCZg) earlier this year, and Chief Executive James White told Reuters he was optimistic of making more sales to China as well as other countries suffering from the outbreak of SARS.

"It's not why we bought the business, but we're doing what we can to help," he said in a telephone interview.




SARS, a flu-like disease, has claimed more than 350 lives and infected over 5,700 people in 28 countries, and has stymied economic growth in the Asian countries it has hit hardest.

Governments have called on healthcare companies from pharmaceutical giants to biotech minnows to help fight the disease, for which there is no known cure.

Earlier this month, the U.S. government summoned more than a dozen healthcare firms to help develop a vaccine to protect against SARS, while companies such as Roche and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) are working on diagnostic tests.

Meanwhile, a small British biotech company, Bioquell Plc (BQE), launched a decontamination service earlier this month which it believes can help fight the spread of the disease.

White said Osmetech bought OPTI mainly to get a foothold in critical care units in the United States, where it hopes to sell its suite of electronic odour sensors to help diagnose diseases.

The firm currently has two so-called "e-nose" devices on the market, one a test for urinary infections and the other a test for bacterial vaginosis, an infection linked to spontaneous abortion and pre-term delivery.

Its biggest hope is a device to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases which it plans to launch next year.

White said Osmetech hoped to make seven million pounds ($11 million) of sales from the OPTI product range in the year to April 2004.

"This deal gives us a big boost towards that goal," he said.

At 1245 GMT, Osmetech shares were up 0.4 pence, or 12.3 percent at 3.4 pence, valuing the firm at 20 million pounds.


2003 Reuters Limited.

Theyve had their little tree shake and where off again. Over 24mil trades today so far and up we go
Tris

HI Gc the 200day sma is crossed which augurs well for omh
Tris

Hiya ains
Never understand bios but just seen this from US news feed.Hmmmm
You know more than you let on we did ok with PTI and by the look of it looks ready for another punt :0)
Tris

Morning Tris .... I do play with them now and again but only when I get help on the tech side of things. I have a friend or two that points me in the right direction and explains the announcements on trials/approval etc.

PTI is a favourite and have played with mlb (moving up) and ASM.

Watching this one with interest and would have been tempted pre market yesterday - but couldn't get on.



ains

97million traded now in just 12 hours. That has to be close to 20% of the shares! And the majority buys.
Tris

Can someone explain to a newbie please, why, after all the buying in OMH does the price drop for no (to me) apparent reason. I bought 240,768 yesterday at 3.65p, before going to work this morning I put a 3.55p stop loss on, sneaked home from work to find my stop loss executed and the shares at 3.45p. I then bought again, 240,221 at 3.50p, it went up to 3.60p and it's now back 3.50p. Please explain it to me, I'm frightened!! -:)))

Loafy Hi, better peeps around than me to explain this but basically the MMs have stock and will play around with the offer / bid to shake the tree and trigger stop/losses such as yours. As Buffet once said if a stock is worth holding for 10 mins it should be worth holding for 10 yearsits still early days with OMH however things are looking better both mid and long term imho.
Best to DYOR have a look at this. http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=80497
Your stop/loss did seem a little narrow but only you can make these choices.good luck.
Tris

Hello Tris, thanks for responding. Yes my stop loss was very narrow, with the volume and because they were mainly buys I didn't think my stop loss would be needed, of course, this was due to my lack of experience, what's the old saying "you pay to learn" and I am, I just wish they would stop shaking that bloody tree!

:0)) It is weird buys are now creeping way ahead yet they drop the price a little, I suspect to frighten the troops :0)
Have to remember the mass of buying of late was done at 3.5 or more so 3.4 could well be the bottom as witness the buyers coming back in right now.
Im holding on for the mid to long term but thats just my view of things.
Tris

Wednesday April 30, 01:42 PM

Glaxo steps up work on SARS vaccine

Click to enlarge photo

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L - news - msgs) , Europe's biggest drugmaker, is accelerating work on a possible vaccine against the deadly SARS virus but has warned its development will take years.


Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said his company had pledged to work on the project alongside other vaccine firms during a meeting earlier this month with U.S. government health officials.


"We committed to accelerate our development of a possible vaccine for SARS," Garnier told reporters in a conference call, after announcing the group's first-quarter results.


"I want to warn you that it takes time to develop a vaccine, even with the best intention and all the resources at our disposal. This is not a matter of weeks or months, it is a matter of years.


"Clearly it is better to start now because this infection might come back, even if it is contained in the short term."


GSK is working on the project at its vaccine development centre in Belgium and is liaising closely with France's Institut Pasteur and rival firms.


"Normally we compete with each other on this. This time we have at least committed to exchange some of the science," Garnier said.


Pneumonia-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has killed at least 372 people around the world and infected nearly 6,000 in 29 countries.


Scientists say developing a vaccine against the disease is the best long-term hope but admit it could take years to analyse the SARS virus and produce a safe and effective product.


U.S. and Canadian scientists earlier this month said they had independently mapped the genome of the coronavirus blamed for SARS, providing valuable information to researchers in the private and public sectors hunting a vaccine.

Sad but means more of the omh kit will be needed, just hope it helps.
Never a truer word than someones loss is anothers gain
Tris

100 million traded in the last 14 hours trading time!
They must be printing the damn things :0) something has to give soon methinks.
Tris

Tris,

Volume slowed to a trickle over the last hour, 100 million traded, 2 buys to 1 sell, yet the price hasn't moved? isn't there a case for the MM to keep some momentum by raising the price if only slightly. I'm just trying to understand the MM tactics, can't see the reasoning yet! Is there any way to find out how many unsold shares there are on the MM books?

Loafy.. not sure youd ever know how many the MMs are holding but whatever that figure their going to run out at this rate. So we can expect those marauding manipulators to raise the bid and offer soon. Thought we may have had a little more input form some of the wiser guys by now. Have you visited the omh thread on a d v f n ? Deafening over there :0)
Tris

loafy..Of the approximately 500 million in circulation that a good 20% of the Co traded now .
Tris

( BW)(OSMETECH)(OMH.L) Demand from China Rises for Osmetech Portable Device For Assessment of SARS Patients

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 2003--Osmetech plc (OMH: L) reports a sharp increase in sales in China for its Osmetech OPTI Critical Care Analyzer (CCA) blood gas analyzer, which makes it possible to determine quickly if a SARS patient is likely to experience respiratory distress that can prove fatal if not discovered in time.
Osmetech, a developer of medical diagnostics devices in the U.K. and U.S., acquired the manufacturer of the OPTI CCA instruments in early April. Orders received last week from China totaled $700,000, about the same volume the company originally projected globally for the entire month of April.

The Osmetech OPTI CCA, made in Atlanta, is about the size of a briefcase, is portable and very robust. It incorporates optical sensors for blood gas, electrolyte and metabolite analysis that can aid in monitoring patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The system is simple to use, allowing physicians to get the results they need quickly without having to send blood samples out to a lab. Chinese authorities have waived traditional import restrictions and paperwork to allow healthcare professionals access to OPTI instruments.
While no definitive diagnostic test is currently available for SARS, the Osmetech OPTI CCA helps determine if a SARS patient is likely to experience respiratory distress, giving the physician additional time to adjust the medical treatment protocol and monitor the patient's response to therapy. The onset of hypoxemia is usually apparent in the latent stages of the illness. It is important to closely monitor these critical blood gas parameters and quickly adjust treatment as needed for optimal outcome of SARS infected patients.
The Osmetech OPTI CCA's test panel can be effectively utilized to detect blood gas variations that frequently occur in SARS patients. It is particularly of value in SARS cases where a ventilator or supplemental oxygen therapy must be employed to aid in patient treatment and in cases where doctors need to take frequent blood samples and establish a trend.
Osmetech - founded in the U.K. in 1994 and known as the world's leading manufacturer of electronic nose sensors for the detection of micro-organisms such as infectious bacteria, fungi and moulds -- acquired the OPTI blood gas analysis product line from Roche at the start of April 3, 2003 for about $3.5 million. Osmetech Plc. has retained True North Capital as an advisor to provide assistance with U.S. and European business development.

With over 100 million shares traded in the last two days (not including today) the vast majority buys at or around 3.5p there must be a few disgruntled at the tree shake this am, especially if you were one that fell out the tree :0)coming back nicely now though, dont let the MMs have their way, imho this will do well medium to long term. But do do your own research.
Tris

Must admit I'm getting a bit despondant, price drops when there is selling, price drops when there is buying, more than a little confused but I intend to stick it out, as you have said "there can't be many left". Did I read somewhere that gaps are always eventually filled, well the "gap up" on Tues morning was filled today, maybe some progress tomorrow! -:))

Hi Tris

omh swinging wildly MMs must be having a ball ....... up 6% down 4% up 5% then all Sq now UP again....the buys seem to be coming back in @ 3.2p

I see China has reported more SARS deaths this morning and a increase in reported cases ........

"Beijing is likely to continue seeing new cases of Sars at the current high rate of more than 100 a day, a city health chief has said"


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2994533.stm

Hopefully Osmetech's OPTI blood gas analysers will start to stem the tide


Gc

Hi Gc ....yes an unexpected windfall for OMH and looks, as though well see more orders because of the Sars thing.
Have to remember the outlook was ok without this flue thing, as the benefits show for the company lets hope the equipment helps in its eradication.
Tris