16/12/2005
The coming year will be pivotal for skin disease pharmaceutical specialist York Pharma, with its major treatment for fungal infections, Abasol, expected to obtain UK regulatory approval and revenues scheduled to start flowing. With the shares currently standing just 8p above the 106p price at which £5m was raised in September, potential investors have a great opportunity to buy the shares in anticipation of this buoyant activity.
Skin disorders, such as eczema, psoriasis and acne, are a very common complaint generating total drug sales of $10 billion. Chief executive Terry Sadler, the man behind Bioglan Pharma (which collapsed in 2001) maintains that the global drugs giants have ‘abandoned’ this area, instead focusing on more lucrative areas such as heart disease and cancer therapies. This means demand is ripe for new dermatological treatments, particularly as the number of eczema sufferers amongst children has jumped from 5% to 25% over the past 20 years, and an alternative to steroid creams is sought.
The September placing gives York £7m cash in total to exploit this opportunity. As well as the key Abasol launch, the company is developing a string of other treatments, following the acquisition of Molecular Skincare earlier this year. For example an eczema treatment has just entered Phase IIa trials. Sadler also wants to launch Abasol in the EU and Japan, and is talking to the FDA about obtaining US approval.
House broker JM Finn anticipates £4m revenues this year. Speculators only.
| Market cap: | £25.4m |
| PE Forecast: | n/a |
| Share price: | 114p |
| AIM | £9.85m |
16.25p
|
-0.75p
|
|
| Other company articles: |
| 29/05/2008 |
| 23/11/2007 |
| 30/10/2007 |
| 24/04/2007 |
| 18/07/2006 |
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