In a move seen as preparation for a possible stock market flotation, the Dublin-based biotechnology company Biotrin registered its name in the US and opened a Boston office. The company, with 72 employees, has sales subsidiaries in France, Germany and the US.
In a statement, Biotrin's managing director, Dr Cormac Kilty, avoided any reference to the possibility that the company will soon list on New York's Nasdaq market.
He said the US market already represented Biotrin's third-largest market by sales and was very important to the company's future.
"Having our own sales office will allow us to serve our research industry customers, most of whom are on the east coast, even more effectively than in the past. In addition, a direct presence will allow us to gain a better appreciation of the markets for our various pipeline products," Dr Kilty said.
The company also registered in the state of Delaware as Biotrin International Inc.
Last November, the company said it was preparing for a flotation in 1998.
No final decision had been made on a specific market, but London, with a parallel listing in Dublin, was the most likely option.
Yesterday's move, however, seems to indicate that New York's Nasdaq market is also on the company's list.
To date, Biotrin has raised £13.3 million in three financing rounds. Investors include New York Life Assurance and Credit Suisse Asset Management, as well as ICC Bank Venture Capital.
Established with the help of Forbairt in 1992, the company develops and commercialises proprietary diagnostic test technologies in high-value medical markets.
"Biotrin has two distinct business units," the company said yesterday. "A range of novel, proprietary biomarkers for assessing organ damage; and a range of tests for niche, emerging, newly-recognised viruses."
The infectious disease business delivers around 70 per cent of Biotrin's current sales.
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