Aortech Share Discussion Threads

[bones] 15/3/2018 11:00

harrogate - of course the court case was all about the heart valve IP and this appears to have been "amicably" resolved and AOR management declared themselves "satisfied" with it. More than that, we have been not been told on the basis of the "confidential" settlement.

However, my thinking is that, in the 3 or more years that Maguire and Foldax actively worked on the heart valve IP that was alleged to have been appropriated from AOR, progress of some sort must surely have been made and it seems to me that the confidential settlement must incorporate this knowledge and its potential benefit to both of the parties.

I do agree that some financing will have to happen (AOR have been attempting to raise the necessary finance to get the project moving but were ultimately handicapped by the dispute with Maguire). Financing does not have to mean a capital raise by AOR, it could be an input from interested parties. The measure of dilution depends on whether value is obtained in exchange for the financing. It could be win-win for both parties for all we know.

Overall, I still feel the market is sceptical in its pricing of AOR, as reflected in your balanced post. I believe there is value in the publication of a sensible strategic plan, when that is made public. I believe they are in the business of the "fresh start" that has been hindered to date by numerous issues befalling them in the past.

[harrogate] 15/3/2018 10:13

Its a while since I have been in to see how things are through the looking glass of the alternative reality world of this board.
I see things are little different with Stig here building a story around various pieces of information - of course that is what investment is about and good luck to him but please don't follow the hype. Surely it is clear here that the core material licensing business that was passed to Biomerics while valuable is not going to suddenly take off and as it was said in an RNS some AOR royalties from this arrangement have been taken upfront to pay AOR share of the additional costs in getting the manufacturing processes sorted at Biomerics - we don't know what that might be but it could mean that any new licence revenue doesn't flow to AOR for a good while.
The hope here is all about the heartvalve - that is where the home run could be but do we really believe that our management can develop this? They will need significant money and a fundraise must be on the cards here and then it becomes a matter of the dilution and the partners they work with that must be announced at the same time. I am a very long term holder and while it is great that we have settled the court case and are not going bust we are a very long way from creating value beyond the current share price.

[landy90] 15/3/2018 10:09

Mitral repair is a core area for Edwards, the Harpoon device sat in the Mitral/minimally invasive area. It was a Strategic not Optionality purchase.If you wanted to make a point, look at their purchase and subsequent closure of Myocor.

[25october1969] 15/3/2018 09:58

Stig, with that logic I see a rosy future for you working for the Trump organisation

[semper vigilans] 15/3/2018 09:52

Have Edwards perhaps got any spare cash?

[the stigologist] 15/3/2018 09:44

Edwards Lifesciences (NASD:EW) Mkt Cap $30,000,000,000 ($30bn)
bought
Harpoon for $100m (initially)

Obviously Harpoon is totally insignificant to Edwards Lifesciences 'fundamentals' but then why bother spending $100m+ on it at all? Optionality.

So whilst Biomerics may seem irrelevant to some it does have some relevance but the bigger story with AOR is of course the Optionality

[the stigologist] 15/3/2018 09:15

It's all relative

[landy90] 15/3/2018 09:08

Stig.. does your retweeting of Biomerics have any relevance to AorTech? Elasteon is a very small part of the Biomerics business. I think you are barking up the wrong tree here.

[semper vigilans] 15/3/2018 06:49

Onboarding - feels here more like water boarding!

[the stigologist] 14/3/2018 22:18

It all seems very 'promising' over at our major licensing partner and they are 'onboarding' partners by the looks of things.

[coolhandfluke] 14/3/2018 09:00

LOLVery good.

[the stigologist] 13/3/2018 21:55

You missed out the 'n' in the last word

[coolhandfluke] 13/3/2018 09:27

Death by a thousand cuts.

[the stigologist] 12/3/2018 23:01

Government announces £300 million for landmark ageing society grand challenge
10 million Brits alive today can expect to reach 100 and funding will ensure the UK leads the world in healthy ageing

Published 12 March 2018
From:
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP


Today’s funding will support better diagnosis for UK patients through AI and new tech at new regional centres of excellence
500,000 Biobank volunteers will see their genome sequenced providing data that will help the UK lead the world in development of tools for early diagnosis and new pioneering therapies
Extra £40 million invested in new hub for UK Dementia Research Institute
New funding will develop new products and services which will help people live in their homes longer, tackle loneliness, and increase independence
As part of the government’s plan to build a Britain fit for the future, the Business Secretary Greg Clark has today (Monday 12 March) announced a £300 million competitive fund to develop the innovations and new technologies of tomorrow.

Through the ambitious Industrial Strategy, government is investing over £300 million from its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) to bring together the UK’s world-class research expertise with business investment to develop technologies and industries that can help the UK prepare for the challenge of an ageing society.

To ensure taxpayer money is being invested in the right areas, the government set out four Grand Challenges in its Industrial Strategy – priority areas and industries the UK is determined to be at the forefront of in the future where we can lead the global technological revolution, creating more skilled jobs to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. Through its Ageing Society Grand Challenge the government has committed to invest in harnessing the power of innovation to help meet the diverse needs of an ageing society.

More than 10 million people in the UK today can expect to see their 100th birthday, compared to the 15,000 centurions today. Ageing populations are a global phenomenon that are creating new demands for technologies, products and services, including new care technologies, different housing models and innovative savings products for retirement.

Today’s new allocation of funding will see the government invest over £300 million to ensure the UK is able to meet these demands, with £98 million for a ‘healthy ageing programme’ and £210 million for a ‘data to early diagnosis and precision medicine programme’ to improve diagnosis of disease and develop new medical treatments and technologies.

Welcoming today’s announcement, Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

Through our Industrial Strategy we will not only boost innovation and productivity across the UK, but we will also ensure that this government changes people’s lives for the better.

We are investing over £300 million into developing the treatments of the future, in new technologies that will revolutionise the way we age and provide everyone with the best possible chance to grow old with dignity in their own home.

By 2020 we want to be the best country in the world for dementia care and research and today’s announcement of £40 million for the Dementia Research Institute is a vitally important step on that journey.

Caroline Dinenage, Minister of State for Care said:

As a society we are living longer - a child born today can expect to live to 100 years - but now we must seize the opportunity to improve the quality of lives lived longer. With an increasingly ageing population we must transform the way we think about our work, our housing, our health, our finances and our communities.

These investments will not only help in our aims to make this the best country in the world to live with dementia but provide a revolutionary vital boost to develop and scale up products and services of the future, ensuring everyone can age well and live more independently throughout their lives.

Healthy ageing programme
The £98 million ‘healthy ageing programme’ will drive the development of new products and services which will help people to live in their homes for longer, tackle loneliness, and increase independence and wellbeing.

The programme will be investing in tackling some of the toughest medical challenges facing society today.

Separately, with an estimated 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia, the Government has today announced it will be investing an extra £40 million into the UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) to create a new hub in partnership with University College London that will host 350 leading scientists, researching new treatments to improve the lives of millions.

Dr Rob Buckle, Chief Science Officer at the Medical Research Council, added:

Developing the UK Dementia Research Institute hub in partnership with UCL will bring tremendous benefits for science and for health.

The new building will provide state-of-the-art facilities for research and the development of new dementia therapies, and will be located alongside neurology clinics and have a dedicated space for engaging dementia patients and their families and carers.

Data to early diagnosis and precision medicine programme
The £210 million investment in the ‘data to early diagnosis and precision medicine’ challenge will see the UK lead the world in the development of innovative new diagnostic tools, medical products and treatments.

As part of the funding announced today, the government will be investing in genomics, ensuring the UK continues to lead the world in large scale whole genome sequencing. Genome sequencing can help those with rare diseases receive faster diagnoses and cancer patients gain better access to personalised treatment programmes.

Through the new investment, the UK will sequence the genomes of 500,000 Biobank volunteers. The data from each of these volunteers will provide a rich resource of data that UK researchers will use to build a greater understanding of disease processes and enable the development of tools for early diagnosis and a new wave of therapies.

Regional centres of excellence
Over £70 million is going to be invested in creating regional centres across the UK to offer UK patients better diagnosis using new technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This investment, as well as future funding from industry, in new centres of excellence will support industry collaboration with the NHS to help the UK lead the world in digital pathology and radiology, including using AI to analyse medical images.

Applying AI to medical images has the potential to diagnose disease more accurately and therefore provide more targeted treatment, and increase efficiency in the health system.

Each centre will enable companies, including SMEs, to rapidly develop, test and implement products and systems in partnership with doctors and academics, improving patient care and gaining early evidence of real-world product value.

Investing in these programmes will enable research that could result in globally significant advances in healthcare such as cures for some cancers. The different strands of the ISCF programme will create the data needed to enable research into better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.

The government has also announced the winning bids for the £21m Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres that will be established across the UK by industry, academia and the NHS. Funded by the ISCF Medicines Manufacturing challenge, the centres will be located at Innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub (iMATCH), the Midlands-Wales Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre (MW-ATTC, comprising Birmingham, Wales and Nottingham) and the Northern Alliance Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre (NAATTC, comprising Scotland, Newcastle and Leeds). The centres will specialise in the delivery of cell and gene therapy products that could treat forms of blindness, cancer, heart failure, liver disease, neurological conditions and rare paediatric diseases and will be coordinated by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.

[the stigologist] 12/3/2018 22:59

I wonder if AOR will be pitching for or benefit from this £300m proposed investment by Government in new medical technology for the future as we prepare for an ageing population where living to 100 becomes more normal

[investordave] 12/3/2018 20:49

Wash your mouth out Stig and stfu. You're embarrassing yourself now. Welcome to my filtered list as well.

[cyberbub] 12/3/2018 17:17

Stigologist filtered, someone who can't control their foul-mouthed aggression can't be relied upon to provide useful info.

[bones] 12/3/2018 11:27

spawny, I look at the chart and fail to see a falling share price (trend wise)! Any apparent pattern forming is rendered history by an RNS (up or down).

[spawny100] 12/3/2018 11:23

The bravado shown by many when a share price falls as if it's a good thing always makes me smile. I'm guilty of it myself on occasion.

Incidentally the chart is on a pivotal knife edge here.

[bones] 12/3/2018 11:22

Yuletea, it's all ifs, buts and coconuts. I don't think there is any point speculating as we await the outcome of the promised strategic update. It's a simple investing proposition as I've read the last six years' RNS's, looked at the accounts and formed my judgement. You either believe in the company, accept the importance of the legal settlement (that's the key for me) or you don't.

What seems certain is many investors are simply too impatient for a quick gain or they jumped on at the top of the recent spike and are nursing losses and self-flagellating having done it for the hundredth time running on a hundred different stocks.

[investordave] 12/3/2018 11:20

More shares for us.

[turbotrader2] 12/3/2018 11:20

Good riddance