World's first stem cell trial helps push Angel back into the black

GROUND-breaking stem cell trials in Scotland have helped push Edinburgh-based Angel Biotechnology into profit for the first time in its 11-year history.

The firm, which is based at the Pentlands Science Park, heralded a "turnaround" year as it undertakes dramatic expansion to meet further demand for early stage clinical trials emerging from the US.

The contract bio-manufacturing firm, which was established in 2000, yesterday posted a maiden pre-tax profit of 193,000 for 2010, swinging from a 754,000 loss in 2009. Revenues doubled to 2.95 million.

Last year the firm manufactured advanced biologics which were used in the world's first ever stem cell trial at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital. The trial, using technology created by Surrey-based ReNeuron, was the first to see the injection of neural stem cells into the brain of an elderly stroke patient.

Gordon Sherriff, chief operating officer of Angel, said: "It (the trial] is very exciting to be involved in and from a business perspective it gives us quite a considerable track record as far as the rest of the stem cell science world is concerned.

"That has served us very well in growing the business dynamically as we are involved with stem cell trials, not just ReNeuron's, but those of other firms as well."

Dr Paul Harper, chairman of Angel, said this year and next would "represent one of the most important periods in the company's development to date", with new business expected to come on the back of more stem cell trials from the US in particular.

Last year the firm picked up a number of contracts in the US, where research is often stymied by campaign groups that find the use of stem cells - sometimes harvested from aborted foetuses - controversial. This is despite reforms brought in by the Obama administration to widen research prospects in the area.

Sherriff said Angel has been working with Scottish Development International to market its services across the Atlantic. Last month the firm announced it had signed a deal to work with Massachusetts-based Pathfinder Cell Therapy.

Angel is currently in negotiations to take a long-term lease on a bio-manufacturing facility in Cramlington, a few miles north of Newcastle, which will dramatically increase its capacity and will allow it to produce sufficient material to be used in larger scale, later-phase trials.

Sherriff confirmed the company had looked for similar facilities in Scotland, including the Scottish Enterprise-backed bio-manufacturing campus in Midlothian, but said "the building doesn't suit what we need".

Sherriff said: "We did look at opportunities in Scotland but all of them were going to take too long.It meant we would have probably lost potential business in waiting and it probably would have costs us more anyway.

Last month, the AIM-listed firm raised 1.93m from investors to fund its expansion.

Sherriff added: "We have worked very hard to get to the turnaround position and now we are in a position to capitalise on that."