Allergy Therapeutics LON:AGY the fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company specialising in allergy vaccines, today gave DirectorsTalk a trading update covering the first four months of the 2016 financial year.
European demand for Allergy Therapeutics’ unique short course aluminium free allergy vaccines has continued to be strong since the year ended 30 June 2015. The Company’s like-for-like sales measured in constant currency increased by 12% in the Period compared with the same period in 2014. Including the Alerpharma acquisition completed in June 2015, constant currency sales increased 15% over the Period. Growth was notably strong in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain and the Company continued to increase its market share during the Period.
Given the results are traditionally strongly weighted towards the first half of the Company’s financial year, the Board remains confident of strong results for the full year.
The Board also announces today that the Company has acquired the licence for Virus Like Particles (“VLP”), a new technology to be used in the treatment of peanut allergy, an $8bn p.a. addressable market globally. The Company intends to use the VLP licence in the development of Polyvac Peanut, a new injectable vaccine immunotherapy treatment for allergy sufferers, through to Phase I clinical trials. Polyvac Peanut represents the Company’s first move into products for treatment of food allergies and, to demonstrate the extent of the market opportunity, in the US alone, there are approximately 3 million people with peanut allergy and 100 – 150 attributable deaths each year. This therefore represents a significant and strategically important new area for the Group.
The Company also continues to progress a number of other opportunities in existing and new areas of immunotherapy treatment, including its programme to clinically develop Pollinex Quattro Grass through to FDA approval and subsequent launch in the US, anticipated for 2019. The Board believes that a combination of the Company’s strong product profile, positive sales momentum coupled with an ongoing disciplined investment in research and development will continue to win market share and accelerate growth in the current year and beyond.
In light of the gathering momentum across all areas of the business, the Board will today also announce a placing to raise up to £12 million for the Company, to enable the Group to capitalise further on the incremental organic and inorganic growth opportunities available.