Agenix revenue record

Public concern over deep vein thrombosis has helped boost revenues of listed biotech Agenix to a record $29 million in the nine months to March 31. The third-quarter result is in excess of a 20 per cent year-on-year increase and puts the company on track to surpass projected full year revenues of $35 million, according to CEO Don Home.

Agenix' blood clot diagnostic kit subsidiary Agen Biomedical contributed $16 million of the nine-month total while its infant hygiene arm, Milton Pharmaceuticals, added $13 million.

Of the two, Milton Pharamceuticals, which has seen installation of new management with strong sales and marketing skills, has produced the steeper increase. Its revenues went up by around 30 per cent for the period compared with approximately 25 per cent for Agen Biomedical.

The gains have come from sharper focus on margins and revenue generation plus operational consolidations, company officials said.

The third-quarter figure is the latest in a string of promising results for Agenix which in February announced a 430 per cent increase in net profit to $1.7 million.

Third-quarter highlights included strong growth in sales of rapid and automated blood clot diagnostic kits in the US, probably related to greater public awareness of deep vein thrombosis.

Sales of animal-related diagnostic products in Japan and the US also rose.

Agenix's lead project, Thromboview, which uses radiolabelled antibodies to locate blood clots in the body, is scheduled for Phase 1 clinical trials in November.

Agenix intends to separate Thromboview staff and functions from Agen Biomedical and set the project up as a separate business unit, said chief financial officer Jeff Carter.