Proactiveinvestors United Kingdom Asterand articles

Asterand’s shares up almost 10 per cent after “research milestone” achieved

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:23:00 +0000

The company announced this morning that its BioSeek subsidiary has achieved a research milestone in a drug discovery collaboration with Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical

The quiet revolution that promises to transform Asterand

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:08:00 +0000

Martyn Coombs, boss of the tissue science specialist, reveals there is a quiet revolution taking place at Asterand. Perhaps this explains why the hedge fund Inflection Point decided to build a stake in the group.

Asterand's Coombs says NCI supply contract will make a 'material difference' to business

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 10:29:00 +0100

Asterand filled us in on the details of company's ground-breaking deal with America’s National Cancer Institute during a conference call with analysts. Here is what boss Martyn Coombs had to say.

Asterand shares soar on major contract win

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:40:00 +0100

The five-year contract is worth up to US$24.3 million. The deal provides a major boost for the tissue supply business, which has been squeezed as the economic downturn hit 'Big-Pharma' R&D spending.

Asterand 'has weathered the worst of the storm'

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:44:00 +0100

Chief Excutive Martyn Coombs believes the company has weathered the worst of the storm in the contract research market, and analyst forecasts see Asterand making up lost ground in the second half.

Asterand: investing for the future

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:34:00 +0100

The group is looking ahead with optimism as human tissue testing is becoming mission critical to the pharmaceutical industry. Asterand is well placed in a market that is growing.

Asterand completes BioSeek acquisition marking first step in ‘buy-and-build’ strategy

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:51:00 +0000

Asterand announced its plan to buy the privately-held BioSeek for up to US$14 million in cash and shares, back in November 2009.

Asterand to buy US drug discovery services group BioSeek, 9 mths trading ‘encouraging’

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:25:00 +0000

Asterand PLC (LSE: ATD) reported encouraging trading for the first nine months and announced it plans to buy privately-held US drug discovery services company BioSeek Inc for up to US$14 million in cash and shares.

Asterand – on the cusp of profitability

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:31:00 +0000

Asterand is a healthcare services business that supplies human tissue and tissue-based research services to drug discovery organisations.

Asterand says revenue growth even stronger in third quarter

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:21:00 +0000

Human tissue provider Asterand, climbed 3% higher after the company said it continued to witness strong revenue growth for its products and services. In an Interim Management Statement for the nine-month period ending 30 September 2008, the Company confirmed that growth in the third quarter “was even stronger” than the 43% growth reported in the first half results.

Asterand did not release specific numbers, but stated that it was continuing to control its expenditures and grow its cash reserves.

Martyn Coombs, Chief Executive Officer of Asterand, said the company was benefiting from its “collaborative relationships with our key customers”.

"These are strong results. Growth in the third quarter was even stronger than the 43% that we reported for the first half of 2008. Our results are especially pleasing given the worldwide financial challenges of the last few months. This achievement has been driven by the success of our international sales team in fostering more collaborative relationships with our key customers; the demand for our products and services is strong and growing."

"In addition to the fore-mentioned results in our core business, we have benefited from our out-licensing of the R99 programme to Allergan. As previously reported, in addition to an upfront access fee of $6.25 million, this agreement has the potential to provide us with additional success-based development and sales milestone payments plus royalties. We believe
our therapeutics portfolio holds additional opportunities for these types of agreements."

"Overall, The Company remains on track for significant top-line revenue growth in 2008 and expects to continue to improve operational efficiency. Therefore, we believe Asterand is poised for a successful 2008 that will provide a foundation for future success."