Sirtex posts positive net cash flow

Sydney biomedical company Sirtex Medical (ASX:SRX) has posted a positive net cash flow for the second quarter of 2005/06 of AUD$1.46 million, an increase of 87 per cent on the previous quarter.

The company's net cash flow for the financial year to date was also positive and stands at $2.2 million.

Sirtex CEO Gilman Wong said that the positive results were the result of a more focused marketing strategy, implemented by the company towards the end of last year.

"Sirtex has been around for a fair while. It's had a lot of promise and it's certainly gone through a lot of growth of trying to establish in different markets," said Wong. "A lot of times it has been more a case of reacting to enquires from the market rather than working to a targeted, focused strategy. We can't be all to everybody at once."

Sirtex produces a liver cancer treatment called SIR-spheres -- microspheres containing yttrium-90. These microspheres are administered through the hepatic artery where they migrate through the vascular system and irradiate the tumour.

The company's positive cash flow also reflect reduced capital expenditure in the last quarter on the company's new US manufacturing facility at Wilmington, Massachusetts.

"The majority of the capital expenditure that we have to outlay to establish that facility has been expended in prior quarters," said Wong. "Essentially we're now getting ready to get regulatory approval to commence production out of the US."

Sirtex currently produces its SIR-spheres from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's atomic reactor at Lucas Heights, in Sydney. "We're not going to cease supply out of there, we're just looking at expanding our capacity," said Wong.