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

Thanks Tris, i'm in with 350,000, have you anything on your hunch that the results will be good? (nice to see Rod has faith !! :o) ) They should certainly have much better results than last year, i think its just a question of weather the city has already anticipated that! Any idea where i can find out hen they are anounced?

wouldnt mind a few of these but as is so usual with penny stocks, the spread is a real killer .

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

from another board ... quote


"Just spoken to David Sandilands he confirms USA rumours ... to cut a long story short this will SPEED UP product development, CUT OVERHEADS AND COSTS further and is seen by the company as an excellent move forward. He sounded extremely happy and full of it, positively brimming at the success of the OPTI device so far (and hinting that it is being very sucessfully sold for Non sars countries as well) and I got the distinct impression we are going to hear a lot of bullish things in the results at the end of the month. He also said that now money is being generated, the risk profile of the company has fallen considerably and they intend on having a big drive in attracting Institutional investors both in the UK and the USA - noting that the company are indeed frustrated by the lack of share price movement".

Osmetech says further China orders brings OPTI total sales to 1.5 mln usd
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LONDON (AFX) - Osmetech PLC said further orders for Osmetech OPTI blood gas analyser instruments and consumables from China have been received and shipped bringing the total to approximately 1.5 mln usd, principally comprising instrument sales.

This increases the installed base of instruments in use throughout the world from which future reagent sales will flow, the company said.

The company also said it will be releasing results for the 12 months to end-April on July 30.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

slm/

Link to Michael Walters site, open to non subscribers following the theft of his server in New York. Good write up on OMH

http://www.michaelwalters.com/comments.phtml

His site will be restricted soon !

cheers Loafy.see your dyor.its a big help to many a lurker. I'm sure they appreciate your efforts..well done
Tris

Tris !!

have you been on your hols ?

what about the American move, got to be good (post 42)

Hi loafy. Dont post here much these daysI remain very optimistic for OMH long term, as you know the MMs manipulate this one of late. Our frustrations should soon be over
pushing its way towards profitability. The orders received this month are already 10 times higher than the last financial year.

Guess we need to see those results pdq..beware tho loafy the MMs will have there pound of flesh given the chance!long term no problemo :0)
Tris