Abingdon Health plc

("Abingdon" or "the Company")

Strategic collaboration with DeepVerge plc

Focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of lateral flow tests to support DeepVerge's Modern Water and Life Science divisions

York, U.K. 29 March 2022: Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international developer and manufacturer of high quality and effective rapid tests, announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with DeepVerge plc (AIM: DVRG) ("DeepVerge"), an environmental and life science group that develops and applies AI and IoT technology for the analysis and identification of bacteria, virus and toxins, leading to a commercial agreement for development and manufacture of a range of lateral flow tests ("LFTs") for DeepVerge's Modern Water and Life Science divisions.   

The MoU has been signed to enable the potential integration of the respective technologies of both DeepVerge and Abingdon. DeepVerge and Abingdon intend to enter into a longer-term commercial agreement, with Abingdon manufacturing and DeepVerge commercialising the new products through its production, sales, marketing and distribution channel partners around the world.

Modern Water

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. Abingdon and DeepVerge will work on the development of LFT devices to detect dangerous pathogens and chemicals in household drinking and wastewater. This will add an extra layer of detection to the current Modern Water range of equipment and services by incorporating an LFT into a hand-held mobile unit. The results of these LFT devices can be digitally scanned using a mobile app, with the potential to incorporate Abingdon's proprietary AppDx® technology.

Future potential developments for water testing that are complementary to the current Modern Water portfolio include the pepper mottle mosaic virus as a potential marker for human faecal matter in water and the automated multiplexing project bringing in influenza A, influenza B, Cryptosporidium etc. into the testing format on a hand-held device.

Life Science

Abingdon and DeepVerge will also collaborate on the development of new lateral flow tests to be added to DeepVerge's life science home test portfolio, including hormone analysis related to menopause and associated skin changes, stress levels (cortisol), vitamin D, and other health markers related to conditions including diabetes, heart and liver function.

Gerard Brandon, CEO of DeepVerge plc, commented:

"DeepVerge's business model is built on collaborating and cooperating with partners such as Abingdon Health who have technologies and large production capacity to deliver solutions to major societal problems such as water contamination and the identification of human biomarkers for a range of health conditions. Surveillance and testing of waterways for the presence of bacteria and viruses has gained worldwide recognition and this collaboration is yet another example of the diagnostics industry working together to rapidly bring effective solutions in the increasing global health risks."

Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health plc, commented: 

"We are delighted to be working with the DeepVerge team to deliver a range of lateral flow tests that have the ability to monitor household water and wastewater for a range of dangerous pathogens, as well as providing innovative new tests to supplement DeepVerge's life science home test portfolio. Our facilities in the UK have a large capacity and we are excited to develop these new products to play a key role in maintaining health in the home."

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About Abingdon Health plc (www.abingdonhealth.com)

Abingdon Health is a world leading developer and manufacturer of high-quality rapid tests across all industry sectors, including healthcare and COVID-19. Abingdon is the partner of choice for a growing global customer base and takes projects from initial concept through to routine and large-scale manufacturing and has also developed and marketed its own labelled tests.

The Company offers product development, regulatory support, technology transfer and manufacturing services for customers looking to develop new assays or transfer existing laboratory-based assays to a lateral flow format. Abingdon Health aims to support the increase in need for rapid results across many industries and locations and produces lateral flow tests in areas such as infectious disease, clinical testing including companion diagnostics, animal health and environmental testing. Faster access to results allows for rapid decision making, targeted intervention and can support better outcomes. This ability has a significant role to play in improving life across the world. To support this aim Abingdon Health has also developed AppDx^®, a customisable image capturing technology that transforms a smartphone into a self-sufficient, standalone lateral-flow reader.

 Founded in 2008, Abingdon Health is headquartered in York, England.

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.