Asterand sees first-half 2006 losses decline

Detroit, USA-based Asterand, a supplier of human tissue samples and drug discovery services to the pharmaceutical industry, says that its merger with UK drugmaker Pharmagene in January this year has had a positive impact on its financial standing. The company added that the combined group's losses for the six months ended June 30, 2006, were L1.7 million ($3.3 million), down from a pro forma loss of L5.6 million in the comparable six months in 2005.

Asterand also reported that it saw revenues in the period of L3.8 million, representing an increase of 73% on the pro forma figure of L2.2 million. The firm explained that the sales growth was driven by the expansion of its tissue supply and drug discovery service activities which had been bolstered by the integration of Pharmagene's sales and marketing force.

The group said that its profit for the first six months of the year rose 219% to L974,000, and added that its total operating expenses dropped to L2.8 million, down from pro forma costs of L6.2 million. The company added that, since the merger, its general and administrative costs had been reduced by $1.1 million, which it said was due to redundancy expenses it had incurred in the previous period.