REG - Deepverge PLC - DeepVerge to explore options for Labskin Division

DeepvergeAnnouncement

20/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 0289T  Deepverge PLC  20 July 2022

 

20 July 2022

 

DeepVerge PLC

 

("DeepVerge" or "the Company" or "the Group")

 

DeepVerge to explore options for Labskin Division in response to the success
of Skin Trust Club

7,000 new Skin Trust Club members joined last month

 

DeepVerge plc (AIM: DVRG), announces a significant reorganisation of the
Group. As from 7 June 2022 the Health / Life Science (Labskin) and
Environmental Divisions have been separated and now run independently of each
other. The Board notes recent interest and increased discussions with Tier 1
skincare corporations, US drugstores and venture capital backed companies,
some of whom are clients, and is exploring a range of options to meet the
unprecedented demand for Labskin services and the accelerating growth of Skin
Trust Club.

 

Gerard Brandon CEO DeepVerge plc, commented:

"Due to the pace of growth of the consumer facing Skin Trust Club business,
which can be compared to a Silicon Valley SaaS type service, demand is far
outstripping supply for the home skin-test kits and the growing list of
Labskin services from skin care manufacturers seeking to join Skin Trust Club
marketplace. The Board believe it is necessary to explore options to maintain
this level of growth within an expanded Group structure.. It is clear that
Modern Water, the Environmental Division, is experiencing its own fast paced
growth as highlighted in recent announcements."

 

The Health/Life Sciences Division comprises Labskin Services and Skin Trust
Club.

KPI's of Skin Trust Club since January 2022

●      38,000 kits tested

●      27,000 Club Members (an increase of 7,000 between May and June)

●      42.5% of Club Members with skin conditions

●      24 new skin care clients joined the marketplace since January

●      300+ products added to Skin Trust Club marketplace since January

●      200+ products to be added shortly

●      82% of Club Members purchase recommended skin products
generating fee income

●      84,000+ visits to website per month and growing (up more than
30,000 in one month)

●      80% traffic through mobile

●      1,700 data points per Club Member

●      80% female users aged 25 - 65

 

Background:

Skin Trust Club, powered by Labskin, has already outgrown the previously
enlarged 9,387 square foot laboratories in York, UK and a further 924 square
feet is currently being equipped to address the immediate demand in the UK for
Skin Trust Club testing. Upgrading of the laboratories in Delaware, US, will
provide an additional 5,000 square feet and is near completion. The US
expanded laboratories are expected to accommodate the short term demand from
Labskin clients and Skin Trust Club members on the East Coast of the US in Q3.
The Irish laboratories in Fermoy, Cork, Ireland are also being equipped to
address the EU market as new Labskin skincare clients and Skin Trust Club
members grow.

 

Multiple streams of Skin Trust Club and Labskin revenues

As well as fee income from sales of skin care products recommended through
Skin Trust Club App, the skin microbiome data continues to grow, increasing by
thousands of new samples each month. This creates a rich learning environment
for the Company's machine learning and AI. The world's largest skin microbiome
database enables the Company to offer digital test solutions on a range of
skin diseases to existing corporate clients and to the industry in general,
for faster, better and more cost effective product development, offering the
potential for future revenues for the platform.

 

 

 

 DeepVerge plc                                   Gerard Brandon, CEO         +44 (0) 7340 055 648

 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited                 Neil Baldwin/Andrew Emmott  +44 (0) 113 370 8974

 (Nominated Adviser)

 Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited (Broker)  Andy Thacker/James Pope     +44 (0) 20 3657 0050

 

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER
THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF
ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.  ON
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About DeepVerge plc (www.deepverge.com)

DeepVerge is an environmental and life science group of companies that
develops and applies AI and IoT technology to analytical instruments for the
analysis and identification of bacteria, virus and toxins; Utilising
artificial intelligent data analytics to scientifically prove the impact of
skincare product claims on skin.

 

DeepVerge comprises the following divisions:

 

Health / Life Sciences Division which contains the following activities:

 

Skin Trust Club

Skin Trust Club incorporates an artificial intelligence Skincare App and Home
Test Kit that provide simple, at-home skin microbiome testing for personalised
skincare and skin health tracking. The self-administered skin swab is a remote
trial and allows the participant to conduct each stage of the trial without
interaction. Skin Trust Club's DNA Test generates a report that consumers can
use to manage their custom skincare regime. Analysis of skin attributes
provides information to create hundreds of different product combinations to
suit a person's unique skin microbiome.

 

Labskin

Labskin is a 3D human skin equivalent test platform that scientifically proves
the impact of skincare product claims in healthcare, life sciences, skin
microbiome clinical trials, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Labskin
have been pioneering the development of a laboratory grown human skin platform
for 15 years and is the only commercially available lab-grown full thickness
human skin model that naturally mimic the skins' microbiome. Labskin's virtual
clinical trials with remote collection of human volunteers' skin microbiome
provides a solution for the collection of volunteer microbiomes to allow for
lab-controlled trials of advanced skin models and human microbiomes. As the
data bank of remote volunteers grow, the higher the accuracy and increased
reliability of virtual product testing that can be provided to clients,
eliminating early human trial and error testing and resulting in a faster time
to market. The Labskin test platform and protocols help clients maintain an
optimum real-world environment, when testing their new ingredients and
existing products, that shows the positive or negative impact on skin's
natural microflora.

 

Environmental Test Services Division, which comprises Modern Water activities:

Modern Water is the environmental division of DeepVerge that has developed and
commercialised cutting-edge technology, focused on monitoring of contaminated
water and decontamination of wastewater, making recycling of water more
efficient. Six countries across the world have legislated that Modern Water
monitoring test systems are written into their environmental protection
legislation. The division offers an automated real-time contamination
detection range of equipment, including Microtox(®) PD, for the
identification of SARS-CoV-2 hotspots and other pathogens in wastewater.

 

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