Binding Site Financial Results

BIRMINGHAM, England, June 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Binding Site Group, a specialist medical diagnostics group developing, manufacturing and distributing diagnostic tests for a range of cancers and immune disorders, today announced its results for 2008 to 2009. The privately-owned UK-based business, whose products are used by clinicians and laboratories worldwide, reported a 21% underlying growth in sales including a strong 35% increase in sales of its innovative Freelite(TM) test.

    Key Highlights

                 12 months ended  12 months ended    Increase      Underlying
                   30 Sept 2009     30 Sept 2008                    Increase

    Revenue          GBP34.8m          GBP24.3m         43%              21%

    Freelite(TM)
    sales            GBP20.4m          GBP12.6m         62%              35%

    EBITDA            GBP9.2m           GBP4.3m        114%              62%

    - Underlying sales growth of 21%

    - 35% growth in Freelite(TM) sales

    - 21% growth in North American sales

    - Continued revenue and margin growth driven by product
      development, marketing investment and operational controls

    - Disposal of the group's autoimmune business

    - Major advances in long-term research projects

CEO Paul Duncan commented, "Once again a highly successful year for the group. With our focus now firmly on the antibody side of the business we have been able to position ourselves exactly where we need to be to take advantage of the significant opportunities we see in our marketplace. With a strong pipeline of products and applications coming through in the next year and a continuing appetite for investment in growth we look forward to 2010 being yet another strong year for us."

Binding Site is committed to developing and providing innovative tests which give clinicians and laboratory staff worldwide the tools to significantly improve the diagnosis and management of patients across a range of cancers and immune system disorders.

Last year it sold its autoimmune business to allow it to focus on the high growth/high profitability serum protein business, including Freelite(TM). The figures reported relate to the serum protein area alone and highlight the strong underlying performance of the ongoing business.

Demand for healthcare products is increasing and estimates are that Binding Site's marketplace is growing at around 4% pa. Against this positive backdrop, the company achieved sales growth of 21% on the previous year.

The growth comes from two main areas: Freelite(TM), a unique and highly significant test increasingly used for the diagnosis and monitoring of Multiple Myeloma and other blood cancers; and the supply of tests for the detection and management of primary immunodeficiency, illnesses that result from a defective or missing part of the immune system.

The business's gross profit to sales improved by 44% on the same period, helped partly by the fall in Sterling as around 90% of sales are exported but most production costs are in Sterling. Even with the currency impact removed margins still grew by 24%.

As Binding Site's current financial year continues, its revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) remain positive and prospects for 2009/10 are strong; Sterling is expected to remain weak and the take up of Freelite(TM) will continue to drive growth thanks to the investments made in previous years.

In addition, a complementary range of products, Hevylite(TM), are currently in trials. Provisional results are extremely promising and the group expects to launch this new range later this year.

Notes to Editors:

Freelite(TM) is a unique diagnostic test used to measure immunoglobulin free light chains in serum, increased levels of which are associated with cancers such as Multiple Myeloma. Multiple Myeloma is the second most common blood cancer after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Freelite(TM) has been used as a sensitive marker for the efficacy of some newer treatments and has helped clinicians gain a clear understanding of how new drugs are benefiting their patients; treatment decisions which may have taken weeks or months can now be made in days thanks to the availability of sensitive and reliable results using Freelite(TM).

Currently there are approximately 3 million pairs of Freelite(TM) tests performed annually worldwide with the number of analyses increasing at a rate of around 40% per year. In 2007 Binding Site introduced its own turbidimetric bench top analyser, the SPAPLUS which is optimised for running Freelite(TM) and other high sensitivity tests, allowing access to the test across all clinical laboratories.

SOURCE The Binding Site Group