genedrive plc (LON:GDR) saw its shares jump 5% higher on Friday as the rapid diagnostics specialist said it is applying for an additional £2mln of grant funding as it updated on current trading. The awards will be used to progress work on the company's hepatitis-c and tuberculosis products.
WATCH: Genedrive receives NHS grant to develop and implement point-of-care test
In the year ended June 30, the business generated sales of £1.9mln, which while lower than the comparable period last year, were in line with market expectations and reflected the completion of an order for the US Department of Defence. genedrive ended the period with cash of £3.5mln. In February, it made its first commercial shipments of the Genedrive HCV ID Kit (for diagnosing hepatitis-c) and further commercial sales have followed. The company said was applying for around 30 import licences as its commercial efforts ramp up. "In conjunction with our distributors, we took the decision to hold back product registrations so we could include new extended product stability claims," genedrive told investors. "These improved performance claims will assist future commercialisation efforts and we envisage the majority of registration dossiers being submitted during the next month." Chief executive David Budd said he was pleased with the progress. In late morning trading, genedrive shares were 5.2% higher at 30.5p. -- Adds share price --