5 April 2024
RUA Life
Sciences Plc
("RUA Life Sciences",
the "Company" or the
"Group")
Business
Update
RUA Life Sciences (AIM: RUA), 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™), today provides an update on trading
for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 and developments since
the successful fundraise in December 2023.
Trading
The first half of the financial year
was impacted by operational issues, resulting in the delayed
shipment of products from the Contract Manufacturing business. As
anticipated, the revenue shortfall experienced during H1 has been
fully compensated by a strong H2 performance. As a result, the
Company expects to report, subject to audit, FY24 revenue of £2.2
million, which is in line with market expectations. The Company is
pleased to announce that the recovery in revenues has not been at
the cost of gross margins, and it is anticipated that reported
margins will exceed expectations. The Group has focussed on cost
control throughout the year. These rigorous measures are expected
to result in operating costs of £3.4 million, approximately £0.2
million below market expectations for the year.
Cash Position
Strong cost management, together
with the anticipated recovery in trading during the second half,
means the Company remains financially resilient, with a strong
balance sheet and a cash position of approximately £4.0m. Despite
challenging trading conditions, these achievements underscore the
Group's resilience and adeptness in financial and operational
management.
Business Development
Significant efforts have been
focussed on business development activities as part of the Group's
strategy to reach profitability in the short term. It has been the
strategy to seek to grow the scale of contract manufacturing, and
the Company is pleased to announce that it has succeeded in
securing the initial development stages of a significant contract
with a global enterprise. This contract represents a major
milestone on the route to doubling revenues for the contract
manufacturing division once fully operational. Initial development
work under this contract has commenced, with an initial purchase
order valued at £100,000 already received.
Additionally, as announced on 20
December 2023, the Company has successfully entered into a Material
Transfer Agreement (MTA) with a global Heart Valve company. The
Group's composite material has been delivered and is currently
being tested by this partner. The non-calcific nature of Elast-Eon,
together with the tear resistance of the novel composite (up to two
times improvement over current materials), positions RUA as a
leader in developing next-generation alternative leaflet material
resistant to Structural Valve Degeneration (SVD). The Company is
confident that these results will be of significant interest to
other prospective partners and is actively exploring additional
potential partnerships.
Bill Brown, Chairman of RUA Life Sciences,
stated: "Trading results for FY24
represent a meaningful step in delivering on the Group's strategy
outlined in November, and the efforts to focus the business on
growth are showing promise."
Commenting on the Contract Manufacturing success, Bill
added:
"Securing this contract underscores RUA's expertise in
implantable fabrics and moves us closer to profitability. It is our
first major contract since the acquisition of RUA Medical Devices
in 2020 and supports our belief that there are significant market
opportunities in this area."
Bill further elaborated on the heart
valve composite by stating:
"Our material has exceeded expectations, demonstrating
remarkable durability and energy efficiency compared to
market-leading valves. We are actively seeking partnerships to
leverage these compelling results. RUA believes that these
outstanding results in preclinical and bench studies are a result
of the unique combination of RUA's expertise in medical fabrics and
the biostability of Elast-Eon"
The information communicated in this announcement contains
inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market
Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
For
further information contact:
|
RUA
Life Sciences
Bill Brown, Chairman
Lachlan Smith, CFO
|
Tel: +44 (0)1294 317073
Tel: +44 (0)1294 317073
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets
Limited
(Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Giles Balleny/Dan Hodkinson
(Corporate Finance)
Charlie Combe (Broking)
Michael Johnson (Sales)
|
Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500
|
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 enabling medical devices with
Elast-EonTM, the world's leading long-term implantable polyurethane.
Whether it is licensing Elast-EonTM, manufacturing a device or
component, or developing next generation medical devices, a RUA
Life Sciences business is pursuing our vision.
Elast-Eon™'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 8 million implants and 15 years of successful
clinical use, RUA's polymers are proven in long-term life enabling
applications.
The Group's four business units
are:
|
RUA
Contract Manufacture:
|
End-to-end contract developer and
manufacturer of medical devices and implantable fabric
specialist.
|
|
RUA
Biomaterials:
|
Licensor of
Elast-EonTM polymers to the medical device industry.
|
|
RUA
Vascular:
|
Commercialisation of open surgical
vascular grafts and patches
|
|
RUA
Structural Heart:
|
Development of polymeric leaflet
systems for heart valves.
|
