RUA Life Sciences PLC Trading Update (9688C)
October 23 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMRUA
RNS Number : 9688C
RUA Life Sciences PLC
23 October 2020
RUA Life Sciences plc
("RUA", the "Company" or the "Group")
Trading Update
RUA Life Sciences plc (AIM: RUA.L), the holding company of a
group of medical device businesses focused on the exploitation of
the world's leading long-term implantable biostable polymer
(Elast-Eon (TM)), is pleased to provide the following update on
each of the Group companies for the six months ended 30 September
2020 (the "Period"):
RUA Biomaterials - the licensor of Elast-Eon(TM) - performed
slightly below the Board's expectations with licence income of some
GBP214,000 for the Period. This was driven by a reduction in
deliveries of Elast-Eon (TM) for Covid-19 related reasons. However,
an element of catch up is anticipated in the second half due to
minimum annual order quantities being set out in supply agreements.
A recent review of this business area coupled with RUA's recent
direct experience of developing devices enabled by Elast-Eon(TM)
has re-confirmed the benefits of this co-polymer in long-term
implantable devices. Our manufacturing partner, Biomerics, has
recently renegotiated a key supply agreement securing long-term
orders for Elast-Eon (TM) at better pricing with benefits starting
to accrue in the next financial year. In order to support
Biomerics' sales efforts and to raise the profile of Elast-Eon(TM),
we have recently commissioned a dedicated Elast-Eon(TM) website
targeted at device design engineers. It is anticipated that the new
site will launch during the first quarter of 2021.
RUA Medical Devices - the business which was acquired at the
start of the Period was impacted by a reduction in customer orders
due to Covid-19. Revenues for the Period amounted to around
GBP415,000 which, as previously announced, was a shortfall of some
GBP300,000 on the pre-Covid-19 run rate. This shortfall was
mitigated by a combination of cost reduction and use of the
Furlough scheme coupled with the receipt of GBP150,000 of grant
finance. As a result, RUA Medical Devices was able to work within
its own cash resources without the need to call on Group support.
We understand from RUA Medical Devices' principal customer that its
own orders from hospitals have now returned to pre- Covid-19 levels
indicating not only the return of elective surgeries, but also a
small element of catch up. We anticipate that this will be
reflected in order levels, which are currently running at around
90% of pre-Covid-19 levels, increasing further over the next
quarter.
RUA Vascular - the business commercialising large bore vascular
grafts, cardiac and vascular patches - has made very good progress
over the Period as reflected in the Company's announcement released
on 9 October 2020. The products are currently performing well in
regulatory testing as part of the data collection for the FDA 510k
application. Good progress is also being seen in commercial
discussions for both OEM and distribution supplies to the key North
American markets. We have also seen interest from European
distributors and, as a result, our regulatory team is now
investigating accelerating the work required to market both the
patches and grafts into Europe.
RUA Structural Heart - the business developing tri-leaflet
polymeric heart valves for both surgical and catheter-based
implantation is also making good progress. The most recent valve
system manufactured looks very promising and, as a result, we have
elected to undertake additional pilot testing of the surgical valve
earlier than anticipated. Results from hydrodynamic testing are due
over the next month and a short-term durability trial will also be
conducted in the next few months to further assist in validating
the computational modelling of the valve system. Protocols are
being discussed with an animal testing facility with considerable
experience in helping develop commercial heart valves regarding
undertaking a pilot study of the surgical valve in animals.
RUA Life Sciences - the holding company for the Group and group
treasury - had a cash position at the Period end of GBP1,009,000
(31 March 2020: GBP1,976,000). This cash burn includes the cash
element of the consideration payable for the acquisition of RUA
Medical Devices in April 2020 together with additional R&D
costs. The working capital cycle of RUA Medical Devices benefits
from pre-payments from a large customer and the Group cash position
at 21 October 2020 had increased to approximately GBP1.63
million.
Bill Brown, Chairman of RUA Life Sciences , stated : " Over the
past six months, RUA Life Sciences has transformed into a fully
formed medical device manufacturer and the new product development
projects, particularly grafts and patches, have moved well beyond
R&D activities and are now firmly into later commercialisation
phase. I look forward to RUA continuing to make further substantive
progress over the next half year."
The Company will provide a further update at the time of release
of its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30
September 2020, which are expected to be released in mid-December
2020.
For further information contact:
RUA Life Sciences
Bill Brown, Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 77 3071 8296
David Richmond, CEO Tel: +44 (0) 78 99996400
Shore Capital
Tom Griffiths/David Coaten Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4080
About RUA Life Sciences
The RUA Life Sciences group was created in April 2020 when RUA
Life Sciences Plc (formerly known as AorTech International Plc)
acquired RUA Medical Devices Limited to create a fully formed
medical device business. RUA Life Sciences is the holding company
of the Group's four trading businesses, each exploiting the Group's
patented polymer technology.
Our vision is to improve the lives of millions of patients by
improving and enabling medical devices with Elast-Eon (TM) , the
world's leading long-term implantable polyurethane.
Whether it is licensing Elast-Eon (TM) , manufacturing a device
or component or developing next generation medical devices, a RUA
Life Sciences business is pursuing our vision.
Elast-Eon(TM)'s biostability is comparable to silicone while
exhibiting excellent mechanical, blood contacting and flex-fatigue
properties. These polymers can be processed using conventional
thermoplastic extrusion and moulding techniques. With over 7
million implants and over 14 years of successful clinical use,
RUA's polymers are proven in long-term life enabling
applications.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTUUSVRRKURUAA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Aortech (LSE:AOR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Aortech (LSE:AOR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024