Summary of the report
Second quarter 2024 for the Group
Net sales amounted to TSEK 961 (1,816)
Result before tax amounted to TSEK -4,714 (-3,193)
Result per share* was SEK -0.32 (-0.24)
Equity ratio** amounted to 61% (58%) on June 30, 2024
Second quarter 2024 for the Parent company
Net sales amounted to TSEK 960 (1,816)
Result before tax amounted to TSEK -4,326 (-2,406)
Result per share* was SEK -0.29 (-0.18)
Equity ratio** amounted to 68% (63%) on June 30, 2024
Significant events during the second quarter
- On April 3, AcouSort announces that the Company restructures its North American sales operation.
- On April 26, AcouSort announces that the Company has initiated two AcouWash lease collaborations with potential OEM partners, one in Europe and one in the US.
- On April 29, AcouSort announces that the Company and GenSensor enter collaboration aiming at improving bioreactor culturing.
- On May 2, AcouSort announces that the Company will exhibit and present at CYTO 2024 demonstrating the benefits of acoustic sample preparation for flow cytometry applications.
- On May 24, AcouSort announces that the Company is selected by EIC for participation in BIO 2024 for the third time and invited to showcase its solutions in ISCT's Innovation Zone.
- On June 5, AcouSort announces that the Company is participating in a pioneering project to release the potential in extracellular vesicles research.
Significant events after the end of the period
- On July 12, AcouSort announces that the Company and GenSensor will collaborate to combine AcouSort's acoustofluidics technology with GenSensor's Biology First Process Analytical Technology to accelerate bioprocess design and improve monitoring systems for bioreactor culturing.
- On July 23, AcouSort announces that the Company has been selected to present on the latest new developments in acoustic trapping and acoustic separations at two upcoming conferences - the Gordon Research Conference on Extracellular Vesicles and the Acoustofluidics 2024 conference.
- On July 29, AcouSort announces that the Company enters collaboration with US based cell therapy company.
- On August 5, AcouSort announces that the Company enters its third collaboration within flow cytometry, now with one of the leading manufacturers of flow cytometers in Europe with the aim to evaluate the acoustic separation technology together with the partnering company's equipment.
- On August 27, AcouSort announces that the leading diagnostics company Werfen launches groundbreaking point-of-care system with integrated acoustofluidic technology.
CEO COMMENTS
Substantial progress along all frontiers
In the second quarter of 2024, we continued to make progress in all our focus areas. The highlight in the Diagnostics field was Werfen's launch of a groundbreaking POC diagnostics system with patented acoustofluidic technology jointly developed with AcouSort. During the quarter, two new collaborations within the cell therapy field have been initiated - one with a US based company and one with a European company. Our activity level remains high also in flow cytometry with two new collaborations. Total income in the quarter amounted to SEK 1,993 thousand (3,362). For the first six months of the year, total income amounted to SEK 4,967 (7,209) million. It should be noted that our business is not evenly distributed over the year but can vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
Diagnostics - Werfen launches its groundbreaking POC diagnostics system with patented acoustofluidic technology jointly developed with AcouSort
In 2015, AcouSort and Werfen initiated a collaboration exploring the use of acoustofluidics technology to enable hemolysis detection in point-of-care (POC) diagnostic instruments. Using AcouSort background technology, Werfen and AcouSort have jointly developed the acoustofluidic technology now implemented in Werfen's groundbreaking GEM Premier 7000 system for point-of-care blood gas analysis. The new system was introduced at the 2024 Association for Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Annual Meeting (formerly the American Association for Clinical Chemistry).
The lack of hemolysis detection in point-of-care blood gas testing has been widely recognized as a significant problem. The potential value of hemolysis detection is tremendous but has been viewed as an unsolvable challenge - until now.
The hemolysis detection in GEM Premier 7000 is based upon patented acoustofluidic technology for plasma separation, combined with photometric determination. In just 45 seconds, the GEM Premier 7000 detects hemolysis, while delivering a complete menu of results (pH, pO2, sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, chloride, glucose, lactate, hematocrit, total hemoglobin, total bilirubin and CO-oximetry).
At AcouSort, we are extremely proud of the outcome of our collaboration with Werfen and our contribution to the acoustofluidic elements of the product. With the introduction of GEM Premier 7000, we now embark on the commercial phase of this collaboration. Since the acoustofluidic technology in the system is semi-disposable, we expect to see growth in revenue as the installed base of the system expands.
Cell therapy - two new collaborations
During the quarter, we initiated two new collaborations within the cell therapy space - one with a US based company and one with a European company. Both collaborations will start out with three-month leases of the AcouWash system, allowing the partnering companies to evaluate the performance and applicability of the AcouWash technology in different steps of the cell therapy production process.
In January 2024, AcouSort signed a Statement of Work describing Phase 3 in the ongoing collaboration with a leading cell therapy company, securing revenues of SEK 480,000 in 2024. Due to a delay of glass chips from our sub-supplier, the first part of Phase 3 will take somewhat longer than originally planned, and is now expected to be finalized during H2, 2024.
The collaboration, which began in 2022, aims at demonstrating how AcouSort's acoustic separation technology can be adapted for industrial use and integrated as OEM components to automate certain processing steps in the partnering company's future cell therapy products and instruments.
Opportunities within flow cytometry continue to emerge
Efficient sample preparation is a challenge in flow cytometry and our technology's potential to establish swift and automated workflows in sample preparation is creating a growing interest from flow cytometry manufacturers, and our activity level in this field remains high. In the quarter, we participated in CYTO 2024 to present our innovative solutions for sample preparation and the vital role this can play to improve flow cytometry efficiency and outcome.
In April, our marketing activities resulted in a one-month rental of AcouWash to a US based company evaluating sample preparation and cell wash for cytometry-like applications. Future discussions about possible next steps will be initiated once our collaboration partner have a deeper understanding for how the technology works with their systems.
In August, we announced that AcouSort has entered a collaboration with one of the leading manufacturers of flow cytometers in Europe. The collaboration aims at evaluating the acoustic separation technology together with the partnering company's equipment. As a first step in the collaboration, AcouSort will supply the partnering company a dedicated separation test module with associated software as well as an application support package. The revenues generated from this initial phase of the collaboration will be EUR 15,850.
Growing interest for AcouSort's technology
The growing interest for our technology is also reflected at scientific conferences. During the second quarter, we were invited to present the latest new developments in acoustic trapping and acoustic separations at two prestigious conferences - the Gordon Research Conference on Extracellular Vesicles and at Acoustofluidics 2024.
During the quarter, we were also selected as a partner of the prestigious EVEREST project - a pioneering consortium in extracellular vesicle (EV) research, that recently received funding from the European union. The project brings together 22 institutions from 11 countries and is coordinated by University College Dublin. The interdisciplinary consortium is distinguished by an ambitious plan for over 285 months of staff exchanges, engaging at least 81 fellows.
In May, we announced that AcouSort was selected by the European Innovation Council (EIC) for participation in the European Pavilion at BIO 2024 in San Diego, USA, after a competitive evaluation process. AcouSort is thereby one of only 15 European companies selected by the EU for full sponsorship at America's leading medical trade fair, which took place in San Diego in June 3-6. AcouSort was also invited to participate in the Innovation Zone of ISCT in Vancouver where the company showcased its innovative solutions.
Outlook
In 2024, we will continue to build on our strategic advances within diagnostics and cell therapy. Our research-to-OEM strategy has proved to be successful, and we will increase our efforts to become a preferred supplier of automated sample processing solutions to partners within the diagnostic, cell therapy and flow cytometry spaces. Developing OEM partnerships is a process which requires time before a steady stream of revenue can be achieved. However, to strengthen our current cashflow, we have intensified our efforts to increase sales of our benchtop systems by establishing strategic collaborations with Key Opinion Leaders. We also aim to generate further external verifications of the AcouTrap system for exosome and extracellular vesicle processing.
Torsten Freltoft - CEO
The report is attached below and can also be found at https://acousort.com/investor/financial-reports/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT ACOUSORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Torsten Freltoft, CEO
Telephone: +45 2045 0854
E-mail: torsten.freltoft@acousort.com
ABOUT ACOUSORT
AcouSort AB (corporate registration number 556824-1037) is an innovative technology company focusing on developing products and solutions for integrated preparation of biological samples. With the help of sound waves, the company's products can separate blood cells, concentrate, purify, and stain cells, exosomes, and bacteria from biological samples. The technology of the company's products is acoustofluidics, where sound waves and microfluidics enable automated handling of samples in a range of application areas, from research on new biomarkers to the development of new diagnostic systems for near-patient testing - so-called Point-of Care (POC) systems. The company's commercialization strategy is based on the already proven business model of providing separation modules to diagnostic system manufacturers for integrated sample preparation as well as to continue the commercialization of the company's research instruments. With the help of the company's products and development of point-of-care tests, new diagnostic systems and treatments are enabled, addressing some of the most challenging disease areas of our time: cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. AcouSort is listed at Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The company's Certified Adviser is Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ).
