Revenues grow, losses widen at Horizon Discovery

Gene-editing technology company Horizon Discovery Group saw revenues grow sizably in the 2015 calendar year, it reported on Tuesday, though losses also widened.

The AIM-traded firm reported a 69% increase in total group revenue to £20.2m, with product revenues growing 124% to £7.8m and services revenues up 69% at £12.2m.

Horizon’s research milestone portfolio increased 32% to £208m during the year, plus royalties.

Its total LBITDA was £6.6m - a wider loss than in 2014, but ahead of market expectations.

At year-end, the company had closing cash and cash equivalents of £25.1m, up from £18.5m a year earlier.

"2015 has been characterised by continued strong growth for Horizon by strengthening our core capabilities in the application of gene editing technologies to 'build cells',” said CEO Dr Darrin Disley.

“This solid foundation has allowed for the rapid expansion of our catalogue to over 23,000 products, including many belonging to our high-growth diagnostic reagents business, and the broadening of our service capabilities with the launch of new drug combination, in vivo and CRISPR screening offers.”

Disley said the year also saw Horizon reinforce its business engine through targeted investments in internal infrastructure.

That included investment in ecommerce and ERP systems, the successful integration of acquisitions, and by establishing new channels to market through partnerships with leading organisations such as ThermoFisher and Abcam for its cell lines, and through an increasing number of OEM deals for its molecular reference standards.

"Success in the new era of personalised and genomic medicine depends on a precise and deep understanding of patient genetics and an unparalleled expertise in precision gene editing,” Disley explained.

“Horizon is at the forefront of these game-changing areas of medicine, and we remain committed to continuing to deliver our strategy of supplying innovative products, services and research that impact the development of personalised medicines through 2016 and beyond."