JERSEY, Channel Islands, Dec. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quotient Limited (NASDAQ:QTNT), a commercial-stage diagnostics company, today announced that it has entered into a construction contract with MW High Tech Projects UK Limited for a new product development and manufacturing facility at the Midlothian Biocampus ("Biocampus Site") near Edinburgh, Scotland. The Contract provides for the first phase of the project, encompassing product manufacturing, which is expected to be completed by August 2017. The estimated cost of the first phase is approximately £15 million, or $23 million at current exchange rates, with funding expected to be provided primarily from the proceeds of a sale and leaseback transaction.
Construction of the new 96,000 square foot facility will allow Quotient to consolidate all of its existing activities within Scotland at a single site, providing a range of operational efficiencies and increased production capacity. These activities comprise the product development, manufacturing and commercial operations associated with the Company's conventional reagent business, as well as research and development endeavors to support and expand the applications for MosaiQ™ – Quotient's next generation automation platform for diagnostics.
"I am pleased to confirm our plans for a new product development and manufacturing facility near Edinburgh, Scotland, which we have been progressing forward for several years," said Paul Cowan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quotient. "The new facility will provide additional production capacity for our conventional reagent business and for assays associated with the initial blood grouping applications of MosaiQ™. It will also provide state-of-the-art research and development laboratories to increase the utility of the MosaiQ™ platform, particularly as we expand its intended use into new applications beyond our initial focus on blood grouping and serological disease screening."
Quotient has also entered into an arrangement to purchase the Biocampus Site upon completion of construction of the first phase of the new facility for a total consideration of £986,000, or approximately $1.5 million at current exchange rates.
About MosaiQ™
MosaiQ™ has been designed to offer a breadth of diagnostic tests unmatched by existing commercially available transfusion diagnostic instrument platforms. Once approved, it will be the first fully automated solution for blood grouping, providing for the comprehensive characterization of both donor and patient blood, with turnaround times significantly quicker than existing methods. Widespread adoption of MosaiQ™ is expected to improve patient outcomes through better and easier matching of donor and patient blood, given cost-effective extended antigen typing offered by MosaiQ™. Improved patient outcomes from the use of MosaiQ™ include the potential for reduced incidence of adverse events associated with transfusion, particularly alloimmunization, where patients develop antibodies to foreign antigens introduced through transfused blood. MosaiQ™ will also offer the opportunity for substantial cost savings and a range of operational efficiencies for donor and patient testing laboratories, including:
- elimination of the need for routine manual testing typically undertaken by highly skilled technicians;
- simplification of required consumables and testing processes;
- consolidation of multiple instrument platforms in donor testing laboratories;
- significant reduction in sample volume requirements;
- reduction in the number of patient/donor samples required, consumables and reagent waste; and
- more streamlined processes for matching donor units to patients.
Quotient expects to develop additional applications for MosaiQ™ once the initial blood grouping and serological disease screening applications enter field trials, which are scheduled to commence in the first half of calendar 2016.
About Quotient Limited
Quotient is a commercial-stage diagnostics company committed to reducing healthcare costs and improving patient care through the provision of innovative tests within established markets. With an initial focus on blood grouping and serological disease screening, Quotient is developing its proprietary MosaiQTM technology platform to offer a breadth of tests that is unmatched by existing commercially available transfusion diagnostic instrument platforms. The company's operations are based in Edinburgh, Scotland; Eysins, Switzerland and Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations of continued growth, the development, regulatory approval, commercialization and impact of MosaiQTM and other new products and our expectations regarding the timing, cost and funding of the construction of our new product development and manufacturing facility. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include delays or denials of regulatory approvals or clearances for products or applications; market acceptance of our products; the impact of competition; the impact of facility expansions and expanded product development, clinical, sales and marketing activities on operating expenses; delays or other unforeseen problems with respect to manufacturing, product development or field trial studies; adverse results in connection with any ongoing or future legal proceeding; continued or worsening adverse conditions in the general domestic and global economic markets; as well as the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Quotient disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
The Quotient logo and MosaiQ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Quotient Limited and its subsidiaries in various jurisdictions.