| 1 |
|
Column 1
|
Column 1Ferret's Stock to Watch: TISSUE THERAPIES LTD08:58, Monday, 19 March 2007BIOTECH COMPANY SIGNS UP ANOTHER IMPORTANT JOINT VENTURESydney - Monday - March 19: (RWE Aust Business News)****************************************************OVERVIEW********Shareholders of Tissue Therapies Ltd (ASX:TIS) should bedisappointed by the market response to the latest deal involving itsresearch technology product VitroGro.The shares have slipped on the week, goodness knows why when onebroker who knows the company well has given Tissue a much better price.Last week Tissue Therapies reported a joint development deal withNovozymes A/S for the development of advanced wound dressing productscombining proprietary Novozymes technologies with Tissue Therapies'sVitroGro technology.Headquartered in Denmark, Novozymes is a respected world leaderin enzymes and other biological protein production and innovation ,withsales in 2006 of more than $A1.5 billion and a market capitalisation ofaround $A7 billion.Scott Power, senior biotech researcher for ABN AMRO, has givenTissue Therapies a buy recommendation and a price target of 71c with afair value figure of 95c.Mr Power suggests the latest joint development is a strongvalidation of the company's technology.He says the the collaboration will involve one of Novozymes'sscientist moving to Brisbane to work with Tissue Therapies.Technologies from both companies will be used to treat a range ofwounds, particularly the acceleration of wound healing.Commercial outcomes of the collaboration may emerge over thelonger term and at this stage the company is making no changes toforecasts.In February, Tissue Therapies reported that the South AfricanPatent Office had advised that the VitroGro patent Growth FactorComplexes and Modulation of Cell Migration and Growth had been grantedand the Deed of Letters Patent have been received by Tissue Therapies.The acceptance of this patent in South Africa fulfills anotherstep in the international rollout of the VitroGro patent applicationsalso lodged by Tissue Therapies in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, NewZealand, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, India and Japan.The granting of the patent in South Africa follows the earlieracceptance of core VitroGro patent in Australia and New Zealand.SHARE PRICE MOVEMENTS*********************Shares of Tissue Therapies rose 2c to 54c on Friday. Rolling highfor the year is 69c and low 33.5c. The all-time high is $1.06. Thecompany has been 20.2 million shares on issue with a market cap of $10.9million.At the annual meeting last November chairman Roger Clarke toldshareholders that the company's commercialisation programs havepositioned it superbly to launch into both clinical trial work and salesinto the live cell laboratory market during 2007.The innovative and commercially important goals of procuringVitroGro components to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard forhuman use at a fraction of the current world market price, as well assuccessfully developing freeze dried VitroGro, have built a solidfoundation for the commercial success of Tissue Therapies in its targetmarkets."At the same time we have maintained a prudent financial positionand a modest cash burn rate," Mr Clarke said."We continue to deliver against all our major, announcedmilestones."This has positioned the company very well for strong futuregrowth and is a tribute to the hard work of the entire company."On your behalf, I would especially like to thank Professor ZeeUpton and her team and Dr Steven Mercer for the progress made and forpositioning the company for an exciting future, Mr Clarke toldshareholders.In January this year Tissue Therapies signed a world wideexclusive agreement with Invitrogen Corporation.It is a provider of essential life science technologies fordisease research and drug discovery, and for the promotion and sale ofVitroGro.The product is used in live cell research for the production ofproteins and development of new health treatments.Tissue Therapies's agreement will result in the worldwidedistribution of the synthetic VitroGro protein platform.It will be used by biomedical scientists in research institutionsand pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies who need, or prefer touse, a completely synthetic, defined media for the growth of cells andproduction of proteins.Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and providesproducts and services that support academic and government researchinstitutions, as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.Products are sold directly in most major countries and throughdistributors or agents in all others.In 2007, the company is celebrating 20 years of acceleratingscientific discovery, including advancements in stem cell and chemicallydefined media.The VitroGro protein platform that will be sold worldwide byInvitrogen will be manufactured to GMP standard.CEO Dr Steven Mercer said the agreement with Invitrogen is anexciting step for Tissue Therapies."We are delighted to have formalised a worldwide sales and distribution agreement for GMP VitroGro with Invitrogen, one of the mostsophisticated, innovative and well respected life science companies inthe world," he said.BACKGROUND**********Tissue Therapies Ltd was listed on the Australian Stock Exchangeon March 19, 2004.The company was incorporated in 2002 to commercialise TissueCulture and Repair technology from the Queensland University ofTechnology (QUT) in Brisbane.It is an Australian company developing biomedical technologiesfor wound healing, tissue and various cell culture applications.The company has worldwide exclusive rights to commercialiseVitroGro, a platform technology developed by tissue engineering expertsat the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation at QUT forenhancing cell growth and migration.VitroGro has particular commercial applications in wound healing,tissue regeneration, stem cell therapies and other cell culture uses.Based on its VitroGro platform technology, Tissue Therapies isdeveloping more effective medical treatments for wounds and burns,integration of orthopaedic and medical implants, and other applicationssuch as cosmeceuticals.Tissue Therapies also provides cell culture reagents to enhancethe growth of mammalian cells for emerging cell-based therapies, alongwith research and industrial cell culture markets internationally.Invitrogen provides products and services that support academicand government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotechcompanies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition.The company provides essential life science technologies fordisease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction.Invitrogen's own research and development efforts are focused onbreakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discoveryincluding functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and cellbiology - placing Invitrogen's products in nearly every major laboratoryin the world.Invitrogen globally employs about 5,000 scientists and otherprofessionals and had revenues of more than $1.2 billion in 2006. |
|
|
