Revolutionary new pathogen detector
Many of the world’s best and most important products (eg Space exploration, nuclear medicine/power & the internet) were originally invented by the military. It’s happened again – but this time to combat airborne pathogens like Ebola, SARS/MERS and all manner of other biological nasties doing the rounds. In December 2018, Kromek was awarded a $2.0m contract by DARPA (research arm of US Dept. of Defense) to develop a vehicle-mounted bio-threat detector. The idea being that this should be able to rapidly identify (within 1 hour) any dangerous germ that might have been released into the environment, say by terrorist groups, organised criminals &/or rogue states. 18 months on, Kromek has come up trumps. In fact once finished, using state-of-the-art RNA/DNA sequencing, the solution will be able to continuously monitor & collect airborne microbes, which are condensed into single droplets of water. The samples are then genetically coded, with results available in <60 minutes. Not only detailing exactly what families of viruses & bacteria are present, but also which specific strain or mutation. Long term this could potentially revolutionise how mankind deals with any deadly pathogen, albeit right now Kromek’s smaller civilian version is not yet ready for deployment in an urban setting. However, DARPA are sufficiently confident of the project’s primary goal being reached that it has awarded a new $5.2m extension to the initial $2m agreement. With the objective of having a fully operational system by June 2021, or earlier. This new device could materially upgrade our (unpublished) expectations for FY22 & beyond. At 20.5p, the shares trade on a 4.5x EV/sales multiple, which appears exceptional value for risk tolerant investors. Particularly for an IPR-rich business, sporting disruptive technology and addressing high growth multi-billion dollar markets.Gilead Sciences is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines. The company's primary areas of focus include viral diseases, inflammatory and fibrotic diseases and oncology. The company's products include: Biktarvy for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in certain patients; Vosevi?, a single tablet regimen of sofosbuvir, velpatasvir and voxilaprevir for the re-treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in adults; Vemlidy? for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults with compensated liver disease; and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma.
Kromek Group is a developer of radiation detectors based on cadmium zinc telluride, providing detection and characterization capabilities within the medical imaging, nuclear detection and security screening markets. Co. designs, develops and produces x-ray and gamma-ray imaging and radiation detection products.
Novartis is a multinational healthcare group based in Switzerland. Co. provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies worldwide. Co.'s broad portfolio includes innovative medicines, eye care products and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Co.'s operations are organized along three operating divisions: Innovative Medicines Division; Sandoz Division; and Alcon Division. Co.'s operations are supported by the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and Novartis Business Services.
Roche Holding is a healthcare company. Co. operates in two Divisions, Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Co.'s pharmaceuticals division is comprised of two business segments Roche Pharmaceuticals and Chugai. Co.'s pharmaceuticals division provides therapies including Cotellic, in combination with Zelboraf for advanced melanoma, and Alecensa for a specific type of lung cancer. Co.'s diagnostics division consists of four business areas: Diabetes Care, Molecular Diagnostics, Professional Diagnostics and Tissue Diagnostics. Co.'s diagnostics division provides in vitro diagnostic tests, used by healthcare providers to screen, diagnose and monitor therapies.
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