Avacta Group plc (AIM:AVCT), the provider of innovative, high value proprietary technologies and services to the pharmaceutical and diagnostics markets is pleased to announce that it has signed an exclusive agreement for the distribution of Optim, the market leading low volume protein analysis system, with DKSH Japan (“DKSH”), the leading Market Expansion Services Group with a focus on Asia.

DKSH, the £5.8bn turnover group specialising in Asian markets business development, has nearly 50 years experience in supporting the Japanese pharmaceutical industry through its dedicated Business Unit Technology which has a specialised sales team of seven. It has strong contacts within the rapidly growing biopharmaceutical industry and with the large and expanding life sciences research base in Japan.

Japan is the second largest biotechnology market after the USA with over 500 bioventures, and is expected to grow ten times in volume by 2017 along with the rest of the worldwide market for protein therapeutics. Avacta has already received its first order for an Optim unit which will be shipped to DKSH in April.

Optim, which comprises a benchtop instrument and disposable sample holders, accelerates the speed, reduces the cost, and reduces the risk of failure, early on in the biopharmaceutical development process.

At the critical stages of pre-formulation, stability testing and formulation of biopharmaceutical drugs the Optim system provides analysis of compounds to identify viable drug candidates and to define the optimal processing conditions.

Optim not only delivers information tens of times faster than existing techniques, using less than a hundredth of the sample size, the quality of the data gives drug developers a greater insight into candidate drugs much earlier in their development.

This quantum leap in efficiency leads to a significant reduction in the likelihood of failure of drug compounds and reduces the overall costs of bringing new drugs to market.

Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group commented: “We are delighted to have signed this exclusive Japanese distribution agreement with such a strong partner as DKSH. It has in depth understanding of the Asian market as well as an excellent team of sales, applications and support staff. The team has many years experience in selling and supporting complementary technologies to Optim into our target customers which is of significant benefit to Avacta. We are looking forward to working with them to achieve our market potential in this strategically important territory.”

Yuji Hirohata, Executive Sales Manager of Business Line Research of DKSH Japan said: “Avacta’s Optim system is attracting considerable attention as a tool that allows drug developers to gain a greater insight into protein therapeutics formulation at a much earlier stage of development. We are happy to represent Optim in Japan and are confident of its great market potential.”

This agreement follows previously announced deals with Pall Corporation to market Optim in the US, Avacta’s largest market; with Isogen Life Science to distribute Optim in mainland Europe; and with Cold Spring Biotech Corp to market Optim in the fast-growing Chinese and Taiwanese market.

About Avacta

Avacta Group plc, a world leading, UK-based healthcare equipment and instrumentation business, provides innovative, high value proprietary technologies and services to the life sciences/healthcare sector through two operating divisions:

Avacta Analytical provides high-end analytical instrumentation and services to the biopharmaceutical sector, expected to be a $200bn revenues market by 2013 and the fastest growing part of the pharmaceutical industry. The Company’s technologies are aimed at reducing the risks and expense associated with biological drug development and thereby reducing the final cost of drugs to patients. The Company’s lead analytical instrument, Optim, is distributed through Pall Corporation in the US, Isogen Life Sciences in Europe, Cold Spring Biotech Corp in China and Taiwan and DKSH in Japan. Avacta sells Optim directly in the UK.

Avacta Animal Health provides diagnostic products and services for the $1.5bn global veterinary diagnostics market. Its aim is to equip veterinary professionals with high quality animal health and well-being information, through point of care diagnostics and laboratory based testing. Avacta’s AX-1 point of care immunoassay system is aimed at providing the veterinarian with rapid blood test results in the clinic. The initial range of tests launched with the AX-1 relates to Avacta’s world leading allergy testing brand Sensitest®. Avacta is developing further assays for the AX-1 system to diagnose a range of diseases in companion animals. Longer term these technologies will be transferred into the human clinical diagnostics market.

Avacta joined AIM in August 2006 and is based in Wetherby and York, England.

About DKSH

DKSH is the No. 1 Market Expansion Services Group with a focus on Asia. It helps companies who are looking for a reliable outsourcing partner to grow their businesses in new or existing markets. It has over 540 locations in 35 countries with revenues of £5.8bn last year.

The Business Unit Technology is a leading provider of Market Expansion Services offering technical solutions in the areas of Industry, Infrastructure, Energy, Research, Food & Beverage, and Advanced Metals. Its full-fledged service portfolio includes market entrance consultancy, product planning, marketing, sales, after-sales services, and on-the-spot training. Through application engineering it delivers the know-how our customers need to make optimal use of the equipment it provides.

The Business Unit Technology employs 1,200 specialists, including over 450 service engineers, operating from 67 offices in 17 countries, spanning Australia, Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and many more.