Trading Statement

RNS Number : 5763P

Deltex Medical Group PLC

20 July 2010

 



Deltex Medical Group plc

Pre-close update on the six months ended 30 June 2010

20 July 2010 - Deltex Medical Group plc ("Deltex Medical" or the "Company"), the global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring ("ODM"), today announces an update on its development and trading performance for the six months ended 30 June 2010.

Throughout the first half of 2010 the Company made significant progress in all of its key markets towards its goal of establishing the use of the CardioQ-ODMÔsystem as a standard of care in the management of patients undergoing major surgery. Sales were higher than in the first half of 2009 in all key markets and increased overall by more than 12% to over £2.9 million (six months ended 30 June 2009: £2.6 million).

UK growth continues to be driven by increasing sales of probes for use during surgery. The directors believe that, following the January publication of the NHS National Technology Adoption Centre guide on why to buy and how to implement successfully the CardioQ-ODM products, the Company is strongly positioned to benefit from the UK policy initiatives aimed at delivering better quality care at lower cost through the introduction of innovative evidence-based technologies: the Company has been informed that such initiatives have been endorsed by the UK's new coalition government.

In the USA the Company's largest single hospital account placed a standing order, as announced on 6 May 2010, worth not less than $33,000 per month and, to date, is ordering in excess of this level. The Company has made good progress in key strategic accounts opened in earlier periods in the USA and in addition has successfully developed a number of important new customer relationships: the objective in these key US accounts is to demonstrate the value of system-wide adoption of CardioQ-ODM in preparation for future roll-out.

In Spain we received the probe orders from the second and third of the five hospitals participating in a major government led evaluation of CardioQ-ODM and good progress was also made in those markets where we sell the CardioQ-ODM products through third party distributors.

Nigel Keen, Deltex Medical's chairman, commented:

"Deltex Medical approaches the remainder of 2010 with considerable confidence. Sales are growing in all our key markets, costs are under tight control and we are on track to achieve cash neutrality even assuming only modest levels of continuing sales growth.

"We believe the public finance deficits confronting many developed health economies as a result of the global recession are bringing forward opportunities for the Company to achieve its objective of system-wide adoption of its products."

For further information, please contact:-

Deltex Medical Group plc                                01243 774 837

Nigel Keen, Chairman                                         [e-mail]

Ewan Phillips, Chief Executive                             [e-mail]

Paul Mitchell, Finance Director                            [e-mail]

Nominated Adviser & Broker

Arden Partners plc                                           020 7614 5900

Chris Hardie                                                      [e-mail]

Matthew Armitt                                                  [e-mail]

Kreab Gavin Anderson                                    020 7074 1800

Robert Speed                                                     [e-mail]

Deborah Walter                                                  [e-mail]

Notes for Editors

Deltex Medical manufactures and markets the CardioQ-ODMÔ system. CardioQ-ODM changes the way doctors care for surgical patients allowing them to recover faster and leave hospital sooner and in better health than they otherwise would do. The performance of the system has been validated through independently conducted, randomised controlled clinical trials and is being translated into routine clinical practice in leading hospitals around the world.

CardioQ-ODM comprises a monitor and a single patient disposable probe. The probe is placed into the oesophagus through either the mouth or nose and the tip positioned facing the adjacent descending aorta. A low frequency ultrasound signal, generated by the monitor, is bounced off the blood travelling down the aorta and the Doppler principle is used to determine the velocity of the blood flow, expressed in distance per cardiac cycle - 'Stroke Distance'. The monitor also calculates the amount of time that blood is flowing down the aorta as a proportion of a cardiac cycle - 'Flow Time'.

The monitor uses a validated proprietary nomogram to extrapolate volumetric data (Stroke Volume, Cardiac Output etc) from the directly measured flow velocity. The nomogram utilises the patient's age weight and height, effectively to estimate the size of the aorta in which the velocity of the flow is being measured. Crucially this means that any reported relative change in Stroke Volume is absolutely identical to the relative change in the directly measured flow velocity variable of Stroke Distance. CardioQ-ODM immediately and reliably identifies even very small changes in the blood flow velocity allowing doctors to intevene earlier and on smaller changes than with any other approach.

Intra-operative individualised Doppler guided fluid management entails insertion and focusing of the probe to obtain a baseline reading, giving a small (200 to 250 ml) fluid challenge directly into the vascular system and seeing if Stroke Volume (or Stroke Distance) increases by more than 10%. If the increase is more than 10%, repeat fluid boluses are administered until such time as the increase is less than 10%: after this no further fluid is given unless Stroke Volume falls by more than 10% - the process is designed to achieve and maintain the individual patient's optimal Stroke Volume. CardioQ-ODM is also used during surgery to guide administration of vaso-active agents such as inotropes.

The CardioQ-ODM helps patients by enabling doctors to reduce the complications that arise from a medical condition that is common to almost all patients having surgery and many others in intensive care or arriving in the accident and emergency department. This condition is known as hypovolaemia - a reduction in circulating blood volume - and in surgical patients arises as a direct consequence of the combined effects of pre-operative starvation, the anaesthetic agents and the blood and fluid losses associated with the surgical procedure itself. Hypovolaemia means that the body struggles to get sufficient blood to the tissues and vital organs which are consequently starved of essential oxygen. This can cause medical complications including peripheral and major organ failure, which if not dealt with quickly can lead to severe compromise or even death.

There are already over 2,000 CardioQ-ODMs currently in use in hospitals worldwide and distribution arrangements are in place in over 30 countries. In addition, there are currently more than 200 clinical publications on the use of the CardioQ-ODM which have repeatedly:-

·    Validated the results of CardioQ-ODM against known standards for measuring cardiac output

·    Proved that CardioQ-ODM works in a wide range of surgical procedures

·    Proved that CardioQ-ODM delivers 50% or more reductions in post-operative complications and 25% or more reductions in length of hospital stay: better care at lower cost.

The SupraQÔis an entirely non-invasive device which uses an ultrasound probe held at the base of the patient's neck to track the flow of blood in the aorta; it presents the same data as the CardioQ-ODM in a similar format and is used for taking snapshots or monitoring over short periods.

 

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