Novacyt Raises Additional €1.4m and Expands into New Primer Design Facilities

Regulatory News:

Novacyt (ALTERNEXT: ALNOV), an international specialist in cancer and infectious disease diagnostics, today announces a private equity placement of €1.4m to satisfy institutional demand. Novacyt also announces that following the successful acquisition of Primer Design, a profitable, rapidly growing molecular diagnostics company, on 12^th May 2016, Primer Design has moved to new larger facilities, which have the potential to triple its capacity.

Graham Mullis, Group CEO of Novacyt, commented:

"As part of our growth strategy, the investment in a new molecular facility, increased manufacturing capacity, R&D and commercial operations will ensure we are able to meet our anticipated ambitious medium term growth targets. I am delighted with the additional €1.4m investment which demonstrates the ongoing shareholder support following the strategic acquisition of Primer Design last month and demonstrates that our shareholders recognise the exciting prospects of the Novacyt Group going forward.”

Primer Design has completed its move to a new custom designed suite of laboratories and offices, totalling 8,500 square feet in Southampton, UK. The move more than doubles the molecular diagnostic footprint of the business and will allow Primer Design to meet the rapid sales growth it is currently experiencing, whilst providing additional capacity to meet anticipated future growth. The investment includes expanded manufacturing facilities and, in particular, the inclusion of a clean room and new freeze drying capability to support the development and commercialisation of clinical molecular diagnostics.

The new facility provides laboratories for Research and Development (R&D) with sample handling capabilities and Class II facilities to support the development of new clinical diagnostic tests and accelerate clinical validation studies.

The integration of Primer Design into the Novacyt Group has started well. The enlarged Group is committed to developing a portfolio of clinical diagnostic products from Primer Design’s extensive non-clinical catalogue. Novacyt’s strategy is to develop many of the genesig® products into fully CE marked kits for sale through the Group’s established clinical markets. The initial focus is to develop and manufacture a CE marked Zika virus test, followed by a multiplex test that differentiates between the Zika virus, Dengue and Chikungunya. Subsequent infectious disease targets have been identified for initiation of clinical validation and development. To support these activities, Primer Design has hired personnel for its Quality Assurance (QA), R&D and sales teams.

Following the acquisition of Primer Design, Novacyt is also delighted to receive an investment from one of its current investors for €1.4m. Under the terms of the private placement, the investor will receive 1,015,757 new Novacyt shares which were submitted to the Alternext Paris.

The share capital of Novacyt following the capital increase will amount to €935,650.53, representing 14,034,758 shares with a nominal value of 1/15th of a euro each. The dilution resulting from the capital raise is 7.80% compared to the 13,019,001 shares currently outstanding. The new shares will be listed on Alternext Paris and rank pari passu with existing shares under ISIN code FR0010397232.

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About Novacyt Group

The Novacyt Group is a leader in the field of cellular diagnostics with a growing portfolio of cancer and infectious disease products and services. Through its proprietary technology platform NOVAprep® and molecular platform, genesig® Novacyt is able to provide an extensive range of oncology and infectious disease diagnostic products across an extensive international distributor network. The Group has diversified sales from diagnostic reagents used in oncology, microbiology, haematology and serology markets, and its global customers and partners include major corporates.

For more information please refer to the website: www.novacyt.com

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