Trinity Biotech shares surge

Shares in Irish biotechnology company Trinity Biotech have surged in the wake of Food and Drug Administration approval of its breakthrough HIV test.

Amid predictions that revenues from the Uni-Gold Recombigen test could be as high as $30 million (€23.8 million) in the first year, shares in Nasdaq-listed Trinity closed at $5.31 last night from $3.36 on the day the approval was announced.

Trinity has submitted the test to EU regulatory authorities and expects to announce a launch date within months, said company president Mr Brendan Farrell.

It has also agreed to supply HIV tests to the US government under Washington's $50 million African Aids programme.

Trinity's test can be administered in a doctor's surgery with no need for lengthy lab analyses and repeat visits. As more than 40 per cent of conventional lab-based HIV tests in the US are left unclaimed, Trinity is poised to capture an untapped market, according to Mr Stuart Draper, an analyst at Dolmen Stockbrokers.

By doing its own sales and marketing, Trinity has augmented the potential for growth, said Mr Draper.

The product, which Trinity has been selling in Africa for $1.25 per unit for the past number of years, will be sold for $10 per unit in the US. It is the only HIV test capable of detecting antibodies in human blood serum, plasma and whole blood.

Trinity was established 12 years ago and employs 620 people, of whom 320 work in Bray, Co Wicklow, where the HIV test was developed. The company is expected to announce a profit of $6.5 million for 2003.