Penny told Citywire: ‘There is enough there to make this exciting. They have some products with big potential and are funded for the next 12 months.
Penny tips the Heparin allergy testing product to bring in near-term cash. Indeed, it could be the 'game changer', he says.
Another potential winner is Akers’ breath test for diabetes and the company has now had modest success selling some of the products into emerging markets.
At its update last month, chief executive Thomas A. Nicolette revealed that sales of its commercialised diagnostic products has far exceeded market expectations in the year to the end of December 2010, adding that the group had received its first product order from Al Tadawi Medical in the Middle East for its Tri-Cholesterol check tests.
The deal boosted revenues by some $1.5million. More good news came from the Heparin PF4 test, which produced revenue growth of 37% higher year on year.
BUYOUT?
Penny told Citywire: ‘Diagnostics is an attractive area. When you get the science right you can get very high margins. If this does not work, the company will need to secure more money but it now has time to bring out further products.’
And he has form in getting this area right. Penny has held a number of diagnostics peers including Immuno-Diagnostics Systems which floated at 75p and reached £9 after it successfully developed and commercialised its products.
He also held BBI, which was eventually bought out at a premium by larger US rival Inverness Medical, as well as EKF and Tepnel Life Sciences, which were also bought out.
Penny expects Akers to add 10-12 to its sales force to complement the one highly successful person already in place, but even if the selling does not lead to as many orders as he would like, Penny says there are plenty of others out there, such as EKF, who have the management expertise and track record to distribute such products.
Further share price uplift could also come in the form of a buyout, from a larger rival bioscience peer.
