Kromek Group PLC (AIM:KMK) said it has been awarded £2.5mln of UK innovation funding for two research programmes for breast cancer screening using its detector technology.
The AIM-listed company also reported first-half revenues up 44% to £6.8mln and said it was on track for record full-year revenue.
Underlying losses on an EBITDA basis swelled to £2.7mln from £0.6mln due to higher costs, but the second half is expected to be EBITDA-positive.
Funding from Innovate UK has been awarded for two research programmes to further develop a low-dose molecular breast imaging (MBI) technology based on Kromek's CZT-based SPECT detectors, it said.
MBI uses a radioactive tracer to improve the visibility of tumours that are often less clear with traditional mammography due to the density of breast tissue. The aim of low-dose MBI is to provide effective cancer detection with eight times lower radiation exposure than normal MBI.
One 18-month project carried out solely by Kromek is designed to prove the feasibility of using a single photon detector for ultra-low-dose MBI, for which it is getting £0.5mln of funding.
A longer project, worth £2.0mln, will gather clinical data on a low-dose MBI system over three years, in partnership with Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Newcastle University and University College London.
These follow a previous successful Kromek project with Newcastle Hospitals to develop a faster, low-radiation dose MBI technology.
“Current routine breast screening does not meet everyone's needs because of its shortcomings in detecting cancers in dense breast tissue, a particular concern for younger women,” said Kromek chief executive Arnab Basu.
“Low-dose molecular breast imaging, which solves this, has the capacity to save thousands more lives, detecting cancers earlier, before they have time to spread. This helps not only the patient, but also the public health authorities who can provide the right treatment earlier and, ultimately, more cost effectively.”
In a separate statement covering the results for the six months ended 31 October 2022, the company said it had a “substantial” order book and good visibility into the second half from 91% of forecast full-year revenue already awarded, contracted, shipped or provided by regular repeat business.
Cash stood at £1.0mln at the half year stage, down from £5.1mln over the six months, but had risen to £1.3mln as of last week and the second half is expected to be “broadly cashflow neutral”.
Revenue for the full year is predicted to grow around 45% on the previous fiscal year, with strong revenue growth in the second half from contract wins in both the CBRN detection and advanced imaging segments.
Kromek said it is engaged with eight tier-1 and tier-2 manufacturers in its key target area of medical imaging and the board expects to announce a number of contracts in the near term.