I have just come across this absolute gem. I don't normally get this excited, but must share it with others. Cobra is the name, listed on Aim and a market cap of 30 million. Just been awarded a US patent for a system that allows people to take previously injected drugs in tablet form. Already profitable was floated off from MLB last year (and given their fundraising today they may regret ever letting this one go).
Collins Stewart are predicting 1.8 million this year and 3.1 million next year, though i can see those numbers being left behind. The company is both exciting and defensive because some of the products that can be taken are against cancer, anthrax and other potentially fatal diseases. (Hoping of course there will never be another terrorist outrage but even then this stock would be one to have onside.) Turnover has doubled in the last twelve months and the potential really is amazing. Biotechs not usually my style but this one is already profitable and i just have to have some in my portfolio.

Flicking through the internet I came across this item concerning the Cobra snake's mating habits. Seems as though the male gets allocated a whole month to do his duty and then that's it for another year:

In January, the male King Cobra starts to look for a mate. He tastes the air with his flickering tongue. Then, when he locates the female cobra, he will rub his chin along her body to calm her and to stimulate her for mating. After a month of mating the two snakes emerge from their hiding place. The female seeks out a secluded spot, she then excavates a shallow, circular depression in the ground up to 3 feet. in diameter. There she deposits 40-50 eggs and remains on or near the nest until they hatch in 70 -77 days. The female defends her nest site aggressively. The male may also stay close by for a while to assist in defense. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings are 12 to 25 inches long. Their venom, produces in small quantities, is just a powerful as an adults. As soon as all the young snakes have hatched, the female leaves them to look after themselves.

Max online buy with Barclays is currently 5K

These results are not good enough to sustain the current price IMO:

Cobra Bio-Manufacturing FY drops into losses but H2 shows improvement
AFX

LONDON (AFX) - Cobra Bio-Manufacturing PLC dropped into a pretax loss of 2.27 mln stg in the year to Sept 30 2004 from a profit of 816,881 stg but this disguised the improvement seen in the second half.

Overall, the company said it is disappointed with the performance in the year under review but its prospects are improving.

The sales improvement in the second half of the financial year was due to a switch from DNA to proteins and virus, the company said. Cobra has restructured its sales and marketing to address the US market. It has also restructured the Oxford and Keele facilities.

Contracted business for financial year 2005 stands at 2.7 mln stg.

Figures for the year to Sept 30 2004 showed revenues down 42 pct to 3.5 mln stg from 6.0 mln. In the second half, however, revenues were up 30 pct to 2 mln stg.

Full year gross margin was 45 pct, down from 57 pct in 2003. In the second half, gross margin had improvemed to 49 pct from 39 pct in the first half.

The pretax loss in the second half was reduced by 17 pct to 1.03 mln stg compared with the first half loss of 1.24 mln.

Executive chairman Peter Fothergill said the second half improvement andthe current position of the order book are significant achievements.

He said the board is cautiously optimistic for the future.