Lombard Medical Technologies PLC Expansion of UK facilities (5223P)

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RNS Number : 5223P

Lombard Medical Technologies PLC

02 October 2013

Lombard Medical Technologies PLC

("Lombard Medical", the "Company" or the "Group")

Expansion of UK facilities to meet increasing Aorfix(TM) demand

Divestment of non-core OEM business

London, UK and Irvine, CA, 2 October 2013 - Lombard Medical Technologies PLC (AIM: LMT), the specialist medical technology company focused on innovative vascular products, today announces that due to increasing demand for its lead product, Aorfix, the Company is expanding its facility in Didcot, Oxfordshire and has taken a strategic decision to divest its non-core OEM business based in Prestwick, Scotland. The R&D and process development activities for Aorfix currently undertaken at the Prestwick facility will be transferred to the expanded R&D and manufacturing facilities in Didcot. The Company will continue to run the OEM business until 20 December 2013, the completion date of the transaction.

The Company is seeing growing demand for Aorfix in the US following receipt of US FDA approval earlier this year; is experiencing growing sales in Europe; and anticipates regulatory approval for Aorfix in Japan in H1 2014. Aorfix is the Company's uniquely labeled stent graft device for the treatment of AAAs ("Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms") with neck angulations up to 90 degrees. To meet the increasing demand for Aorfix, the Company is expanding its facilities in Didcot by around 10,000 sqft., involving the construction of a new cleanroom and materials handling space, at a cost of around GBP0.3m. The expansion is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014 and new jobs will be created at the site once the new facility is operational.

The OEM business, which manufactures a range of medical products for third parties, and certain assets, will be divested to Culzean Medical Devices Limited for GBP0.6m in cash. The consideration is receivable in four annual instalments from the end of 2014 and will be used for general working capital purposes. The book value of the assets to be disposed of was less than GBP0.1m as at 31 December 2012; and in the year ended 31 December 2012, the OEM business generated a profit before tax of GBP0.1m (after the recharge of central costs) on revenue of GBP0.7m. OEM revenue in the first half of 2013 was GBP0.3m and is expected to show a decline in the full year.

Under the terms of the divestment agreement, some employees in Scotland will transfer to support the new owner's business activities; other employees will be given the opportunity to relocate to Didcot.

-Ends-

For further information:

 
 Lombard Medical Technologies PLC         Tel: +44 (0)1235 750 
                                           800 
 Simon Hubbert, Chief Executive Officer 
  Ian Ardill, Chief Financial Officer 
 
 Canaccord Genuity Limited                Tel: +44 (0)20 7523 8000 
  Lucy Tilley / Tim Redfern / Henry 
  Fitzgerald O'Connor / 
  Dr Julian Feneley 
 
 FTI Consulting                           Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113 
  Simon Conway / Stephanie Cuthbert 
  / Victoria Foster Mitchell 
 
 Allen & Caron                              Tel: +1 (949) 474 4300 
  Matt Clawson

About Lombard Medical

Lombard Medical Technologies PLC (AIM: LMT) is a medical device company focused on device solutions for the $1.3 billion per annum AAA repair market. The Company's lead product, Aorfix, is an endovascular stent graft which has been specifically designed to solve the problems that exist in treating complex tortuous anatomy, which is often present in advanced AAA disease. Aorfix is the only stent graft approved for AAA neck angulations of up to 90 degrees and is currently being commercialized worldwide. Aorfix is the first AAA stent graft not of U.S. origin to gain FDA approval. The Company is headquartered in Oxfordshire, England with U.S. operations in Irvine, CA.

Further background on the Company can be found at www.lombardmedical.com.

Aorfix Commercialisation

In February 2013 Lombard Medical received FDA ("Food and Drug Administration") approval to treat AAAs, the only device with a label indication for the treatment of patients with angulations at the neck (top) of the aneurysm of up to 90 degrees. This gives Aorfix the broadest label for such a device on the US market and makes it the only endovascular stent graft approved for use in high angle (>60 degrees) cases. In Japan, Lombard Medical's exclusive distribution partner, Medico's Hirata Inc., remains in dialogue with the Japanese PMDA ("Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency") to achieve regulatory approval for Aorfix, expected in H1 2014.

About Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

AAAs are a balloon-like enlargement of the aorta which, if left untreated, may rupture and cause death. Approximately 4.5 million people are living with AAAs in the developed world and each year 600,000 new cases are diagnosed. In the U.S. aortic aneurysm disease is among the leading cause of death and it is estimated that 1.7 million people over the age of 55 have an AAA. The market for the repair of AAAs in the U.S. is valued at more than $600 million annually, and is forecast to grow to $1.6 billion worldwide by 2015 according to independent market research.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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