Medisys shrugs off US setback

AN aborted deal by medical equipment group Medisys to acquire a US company to market its blood-glucose monitoring kit Hypoguard cost it £1.5m. Despite this setback, sales of Hypoguard increased by 20% to £15.8m in the six months ended March.

The potential worldwide market for the innovative Hypoguard device is worth $4bn (£2.7bn), more than half of it in the US. The kit, about twice the size of a mobile phone, tests tiny drops of blood to tell diabetics when they need insulin.

Medisys has recently done a deal with Smiths Group to market its Futura safety syringe and deliveries are due to start next month. The company also makes safety scalpels and has tripled its production facilities to meet demand from Kaiser Permanente in the US.

The £1.5m loss on the US deal sent Medisys £5.1m into the red at the interim stage. Analysts believe it could become profitable this year as it builds up sales. The shares fell 5p to 41 1/4p.