'We're doing fine without Alere' says Axis-Shield chairman

AXIS-SHIELD chairman John Brown yesterday launched the medical testing kit maker's defence against a hostile takeover bid by saying the Dundee firm did not need a larger parent company to sell its machines.

The Scots life sciences veteran, who is joint-chairman of the Scottish Life Sciences Advisory Board, reiterated his directors' view that last Friday's 230 million takeover bid from New York-listed Alere "fundamentally undervalues" the company.

His comments came as Alere yesterday published its formal offer document to shareholders in the Scottish company.

Brown said Axis-Shield had already sold 10,000 of its Afinion machines - which can run several tests on a single sample - and a further 40,000 units of its cheaper Nycocard equipment, working with companies including Physician Sales & Services with its 750 sales staff in the US.

He told The Scotsman: "We have an excellent commercial strategy. To have 10,000 Afinion machines out there is an incredible performance.

"We can get our products out there - that's not a problem. In emerging markets, we're promoting our Nycocard machine. So we're doing pretty well at getting our equipment out there."

Brown admitted there may be a price at which Axis-Shield's board would enter discussions with its suitor but refused to be drawn on a specific figure.

He added: "The board is always aware of its responsibility (to shareholders]. There may be a value at which we feel it's sufficiently interesting to permit someone to indulge in discussions with us but we don't feel it's there at the moment."

Analysts have suggested Axis-Shield may be worth more than 550p a share, valuing it at 275m.

Axis-Shield's stock has been a rare riser in a sea of red over the past week. Having jumped by 50 per cent last month when an informal approach from Alere was made public, the shares have been holding their own in recent days amid the market turmoil.

Brown said: "We saw all our large investors after the announcement from Alere to put forward our case for the strength of Axis-Shield and that the offer undervalues the company. They seemed to appreciate our position and the fact the share price has stayed above the 460p offer indicates they agree with us."

Shares in Axis-Shield closed up 3.5p last night at 467p.

Brown confirmed the firm was still on course to launch its a lipids test, to measure cholesterol levels and other indications of heart and lung disease, before the end of the year.

He said the lipids market was forecast to be worth $500m (310m) by 2013.

Massachusetts-based Alere was previously called Inverness Medical and sold its main site in the Highlands to Johnson & Johnson in 2001 for $1.3 billion.