Alltracel, the pharmaceuticals group with its headquarters in Dublin, has been granted additional US patents for its advanced wound-management and cholesterol-control products.
The company expects to generate its first US revenues in the fourth quarter of 2003.
The company, listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), specialises in medical devices and compounds that control bleeding and accelerate healing. It recently reported 44 per cent year-on-year growth in first-quarter sales on the back of increased demand in Europe. Revenues for the quarter were €355,000 compared with €246,000 in the first quarter of 2002.
Chief executive Mr Gerry Brandon said: "We are particularly pleased at the timing of these US patents for advanced applications of our core polymer technology platform. Quarter four sees the start of sales for our just-appointed US partners and this patent grant facilitates the product development path for advance wound-treatment products, particularly for the important institutional market sectors."
Products for the cholesterol- control and nutritional food markets are undergoing clinical trials with a health supplement expected to be on the market by late next year, said Mr Brandon.
Alltracel was established in 1986 and operates a research facility in the Czech Republic.
Yesterday's announcement follows receipt of an Australian patent for the same technologies in May. Last year the company secured a revolving corporate bank loan worth 2 million, sufficient to keep it afloat beyond 2004.
