LONDON, United Kingdom, April 30, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Restructuring of discovery systems on track, outlook for the year unchangedLondon, 30 April 2003. Amersham (LSE:AHM)(NYSE:AHM)(OSE:AHM) today reported sales of 381 million pounds for the first three months of 2003 (2002: 381 million pounds), up six per cent, at constant exchange rates and excluding discontinued product sales, in line with expectations.
In Amersham Health, sales rose seven per cent* to 224 million pounds. Sales of medical diagnostics products, excluding Japan, continued to be strong, rising 12 per cent*. Patented products, including Myoview(TM) in radiopharmaceutical imaging, Omniscan(TM) in MRI and Visipaque(TM) in X-ray, increased in sales by 22 per cent*. Visipaque showed a particularly strong sales performance, following publication of safety data from the NEPHRIC study in the New England Journal of Medicine which supported its use in renally-impaired patients. Sales of Omnipaque(TM), the unpatented X-ray product, continued to grow.
In the first quarter Amersham Health delivered key strategic initiatives to underscore its focus on diagnostics while establishing new growth opportunities for therapy products. A third Imanet(TM) centre was established in Finland, TRIS (Turku Research Imaging Solutions Oy), which will work in partnership with Turku PET Centre to provide diagnostic services and enhance identification of new molecular diagnostics. In the area of prostate cancer therapy, Amersham Health merged its brachytherapy business with the urology business of Galil Medical Ltd, an innovator in cryotherapy, to create a profitable marketing company with potential for sustained growth.
In Amersham Biosciences, sales for protein separations were up seven per cent* to 62 million pounds, driven by growth in sales of bioprocess systems and media used in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. In line with previous guidance, sales growth is again expected to be stronger in the second half of the year reflecting customer buying patterns. In laboratory separations the market has responded well to the recent addition of AKTApilot(TM) to the AKTA(TM) range, for the production of clinical grade proteins on the benchtop.
Sales in discovery systems rose two per cent*, excluding discontinued product sales of 7 million pounds, to 95 million pounds with growth in proteomics and bioassays compensating for the anticipated decline in genomics. The first phase of restructuring the discovery systems business area to deliver profitability during 2004 is on track and efforts are also under way to target more effectively the high growth customer segments.
Sir William Castell, Chief Executive, Amersham, said, "Amersham has made good progress so far in 2003 with solid performances from medical diagnostics and protein separations, where our research and development track record of supporting life cycle management and delivering innovation continues to drive sales and profits. As expected, our sales, as reported in sterling, were impacted by foreign exchange, however, our underlying rate of growth continued to show good momentum. We are progressing well with the restructuring of discovery systems to ensure the business delivers both innovation and profit. Our outlook for the year is unchanged.
"Underlying Amersham's initiatives is a commitment to help to solve today's critical healthcare concerns. To this end, we are proud to acknowledge that our automated DNA analysis system, MegaBACE(TM), and reagents were used by the Beijing Genomics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese University of Hong Kong to decode the SARS virus."
Amersham (LSE, NYSE, OSE: AHM) is a world leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences. Headquartered in the UK, the company had sales of 1.62 billion pounds in 2002 and has 10,000 employees worldwide. Its strategy is to build its position as a leading provider of products and technologies enabling disease to be better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively.
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* All growth rates stated at constant exchange
Cautionary statement for purposes of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides for a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's views about future events and financial performance. The following important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any forward-looking statements:
i. Changes in demand for the products of Amersham plc worldwide or the markets for those products, as well as changes in management's expectation of the development of new markets and the timing of completion of various trials leading to the introduction of new products.
ii. Changes in the cost or supply of raw materials, changes in interest rates and the impact of competition; and
iii. Price controls and price reductions, fluctuations in exchange rates for foreign currencies, changes in governmental regulation, and the risk of loss of patents or trademarks.
Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In any event, these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.