Novacyt S.A.
("Novacyt" or the "Company")
Contract manufacturing services agreement signed with Yourgene Health Plc
Additional manufacturing capacity to support demand for Novacyt's COVID-19 diagnostic test
Paris, France and Camberley, UK - 25 March 2020 - Novacyt (EURONEXT GROWTH: ALNOV; AIM: NCYT), an international specialist in clinical diagnostics, announces that, further to the notification on 20 March 2020, the Company has signed an agreement for certain contract manufacturing services with Yourgene Health Plc ("Yourgene") (AIM: YGEN), an international molecular diagnostics group. Yourgene will support Novacyt in the production of the COVID-19 diagnostic test developed by Primerdesign, the Company's molecular diagnostics division.
Yourgene's GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Citylabs in Manchester, UK, will be used to expand Novacyt's production capacity of the COVID-19 test. To expedite the process, Yourgene will initially manufacture critical components of the COVID-19 test. The two companies may seek to expand the agreement to include production of final versions of the COVID-19 test in due course. The first batches of the critical components are expected to be shipped from the Citylabs site to Primerdesign in Southampton, UK, over the next few weeks.
Graham Mullis, Chief Executive Officer of Novacyt, commented:
"As the global demand for our COVID-19 test continues to increase, we are pleased to have rapidly established a relationship with the expert team at Yourgene to further expand our manufacturing capacity. We look forward to working with Yourgene as we continue to ensure we are fully prepared to meet the demand for our test to support the global response to monitor and contain the COVID-19 pandemic."
Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer of Yourgene, commented:
"We are pleased to be able to utilise our high-quality manufacturing capability to support Novacyt in the production of a key diagnostic test for COVID-19. This manufacturing agreement illustrates that we have an incredibly skilled workforce and flexible manufacturing capabilities to support diagnostic test developers at critical times."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
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Contacts
Novacyt SA
Graham Mullis, Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Dyer, Chief Financial Officer
+44 (0)1276 600081
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Matthew Johnson / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)
Vadim Alexandre / Rob Rees (Corporate Broking)
+44 (0)20 3470 0470
FTI Consulting (International)
Victoria Foster Mitchell / Mary Whittow
+44 (0)20 3727 1000
[email protected] / [email protected]
FTI Consulting (France)
Arnaud de Cheffontaines
+33 (0)147 03 69 47
[email protected]
About Novacyt Group
The Novacyt Group is an international diagnostics business generating an increasing portfolio of in vitro and molecular diagnostic tests. Its core strengths lie in diagnostics product development, commercialisation, contract design and manufacturing. The Company's lead business units comprise of Primerdesign and Lab21 Products, supplying an extensive range of high-quality assays and reagents worldwide. The Group directly serves microbiology, haematology and serology markets as do its global partners, which include major corporates.
For more information please refer to the website: www.novacyt.com
About COVID-19
Researchers at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and their collaborators have sequenced the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pathogen from patient samples and have found it to be genetically distinct from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus that caused an epidemic in 2002 and 2003, as well as from the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus that was detected in 2012.
About Yourgene Health plc
Yourgene is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops and commercialises genetic products and services. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.
Yourgene develops and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, primarily for reproductive health. The Group's products include non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down's Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests, male infertility tests and genetic disease tests. Yourgene's commercial footprint is already established in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Our product development, research service and commercial capabilities extend across the lifecycle of genetic test development including regulatory submissions. Through our technical expertise and partnerships, Yourgene is also extending its genetic testing offering into oncology.
Yourgene is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices in Taipei and Singapore, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "YGEN". For more information, visit www.yourgene-health.com and follow us on twitter @Yourgene_Health.
