Omega in alpha position for allergy testing

MEDICAL testing kit maker Omega Diagnostics yesterday unveiled a deal with a French peer that puts the Alva-based firm on course to more than treble turnover over three years.

Under the deal, Aim-quoted Omega will develop and distribute allergy tests for one of the machines made by Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDS) France.

House broker Cenkos predicted that the move into allergy testing will boost turnover to 20 million in 2013 from 6.2m in 2010 and take Omega's pre-tax profits to 5.2m from 600,000.

In November, the Scottish firm took its first step into the allergy testing market when it bought part of German firm Allergopharma from drugs giant Merck for 5m, using 7.75m raised through a share placing.

Chief executive Andrew Shepherd told The Scotsman that cash raising through the placing would also fund the latest deal with IDS.

He added: "The part of Allergopharma that we bought last year had not been heavily promoted so we have already been able to grow sales by 7 per cent in the first two months of ownership.

"We've revitalised its small export markets in Poland and Russia and we will use Omega's existing sales teams to further promote the allergy testing kits."

Shepherd said the latest kits would take about a year to develop and that he wanted to target the growing markets in India and the US.

l Edinburgh-based drug developer TPP has signed a deal to commercialise research from Aberdeen University.