Oxford Nanopore shares jump after university spinout lifts life sciences revenue forecast
Shares in Oxford Nanopore surged almost 6 per cent this morning after the recently-listed biotech upped the 2022 and 2023 sales forecast for its life sciences unit, bolstered by a multimillion dollar long-term contract win in the UAE.
The genomics group forecast revenue for the core unit will hit between £170m and £190m in 2023, a significant boost from the previous estimate of between £165m and 175m that it released ahead of its £3.5bn London debut in September.
Its revised forecast came alongside an announcement of a new $68m three-year contract with Abu Dhabi-based G42 Laboratory to provide devices, consumables including flow cells and kits, and other support services.
As the new contract is expected to largely generate revenues after the end of 2021, the group is maintaining its life sciences guidance for the current year of £105-11m – the result of its 60-70 per cent growth this year as announced in October.
In the LSE’s eighth-biggest listing this year, Oxford Nanopore’s debut at the end of September was warmly received, with shares surging as much as 45 per cent, valuing it at almost £5bn.
It was a promising sign for London after the firm chose to make its debut on the city’s main market – a rare move for UK life sciences firms, who have historically chosen New York’s tech-focused Nasdaq exchange.
Spun out of Oxford University in 2005, the biotech has been propelled into the public eye during the pandemic, during which it bagged a £115m UK government contract for its handheld genome-sequencing devices that are used to track nascent Covid-19 strains.
CEO Gordon Sanghera has previously commented on the company’s loyalty to its home market as the location for its IPO and said Nanopore went through a “thorough and rigorous process” before choosing London.
Since then, its shares have edged down 11 per cent, as of Monday’s close.