Executives at Alva-based medical diagnostics firm Omega have revealed hopes of a 10% interim profit boost as they continue their battle to bring fresh allergy and HIV testing equipment to market.
The company said it expects to book a marginal rise in turnover for the period to the end of September when it releases results next month, with the £5.59 million figure anticipated likely to bring in a pre-tax return of at least £418,000 for the half-year.
But it admitted that its ability to meet market expectations for the second half of the year would require both “growth in the core business” and a successful outcome in its efforts to transfer technology for the CD4 HIV test under development from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
That process has been complicated by last month’s announcement of a delay to development caused by a new-found variability in some of the results produced by the lightweight and portable testing unit.
Omega bosses said the process of selecting a preferred manufacturing protocol had continued, and further experiments were planned to determine the cause of the problems.
An update is planned for the end of the month.
The Clackmannanshire firm, which employs 30 people in Alva and another 120 worldwide, hopes CD4 will revolutionise treatment of HIV in developing nations.
The testing unit, which is easily transportable to remote areas away from established HIV clinics, is able to assess the number of white blood cells in an HIV patient’s bloodstream within 40 minutes.
It will then recommend instant treatment if the white blood cell count has fallen below a certain level.
It had hoped to begin manufacture late this summer, but that timetable has now been extended.
“The ability to meet expectation in the second half will require further growth in the core business and a successful outcome to the CD4 technology transfer to enable a contribution to be made before the end of the financial year,” Omega said.
Meanwhile, the firm said it expected a 9% bounce in interim revenues from its food intolerance division, and a 2% rise in its allergy and autoimmune arm.
It said it was continuing to develop allergen tests for its IDS-iSYS testing instrument, having engaged three more scientists as consultants.