ferret's stock to watch: medical developments

Ferret's Stock to Watch: MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS INT'NL
08:44, Thursday, 26 May 2005

A COMPANY SELLING PAIN RELIEF AROUND THE WORLD

Sydney - Thursday - May 26: (RWE Australian Business News)
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OVERVIEW
********

A small Melbourne biotech company is making a name for itself by
manufacturing the latest drugs for use around the globe.

The appropriately named Medical Developments International (MVP)
this week announced that the executive board of the Health Ministers'
Council for the GCC States (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and
Qatar) had issued a manufacturing licence to MVP for its manufacturing
facility located in Springvale, Melbourne.

It has also secured further orders in the region.

MVP has been actively marketing its pain relief drug Penthrox to
leading ambulance services and defence forces in the GCC States for
months.

Whilst product interest is high, many of these institutions have
indicated that a purchase decision is dependent on registration.

To market Penthrox in the GCC States, MVP is required to complete
a two-step registration process.

The first (and most lengthy) process is the approval of MVP as a
manufacturer of Penthrox.

This process is now complete with the issue of a manufacturing
licence.

The second step, which is now underway, is the approval of
Penthrox.

MVP expects to have final product registration by September.

Not withstanding the need for registration, MVP also announced
that it had secured further pre-registration orders for Penthrox from the
Ambulance Service operated by Dubai Police and also from one of the
leading hotel groups in the United Arab Emirates.

The order from Dubai Police is its second order for Penthrox.

Its first order, placed in October 2004, was successfully used
within the Ambulance Service as well as by their Tsunami Relief Team
dispatched to Bandah Aceh, Indonesia in January.

Penthrox is ideally suited for use in mass disaster situations
like the tsunami in South East Asia.

The GCC States have a combined population in excess of 35 million
people. They are affluent countries with well-funded health sectors.

MVP expects to make further announcements before the end of the
financial year regarding additional developments in the Middle East and
also in relation to trials being conducted in Australia.

SHARE PRICE MOVEMENTS
*********************

Shares of Medical Developments yesterday rose 3c to 79c. Rolling
high for the year has been $1.55 and low 65c. Dividend is 0.25c to yield
0.32 per cent.

At the end of February the company released its December
half-year results.

Post balance date sales to New Zealand and New Guinea showed
early signs of international success.

During the period, MVP invested nearly $700,000 in marketing and
product registrations.

This was consistent with the strategy to aggressively develop
international markets, particularly for Penthrox.

While it was hoped that the fruits of these registration and
marketing efforts would have been included in the results, management
expects further international sales of Penthrox in the coming months.

Gross revenue was $2.85 million, EBITDA was $555,000, EBIT was
$257,000, and NPAT was $117,000.

Prior to December 2004, MVP was marketing Penthrox in Australia,
New Zealand, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, a market of 30 million
people.

Within Australia, the sales focus has been on hospitals and
doctors.

Interest in Penthrox continues to grow, with new trials having
begun or due to begin in accident & emergency, oncology, plastic surgery
and dentistry.

The first sales of Penthrox to the New Zealand Defence Force and
New Guinea occurred in February, while marketing approval was granted in
Pakistan in December, opening a market of 160 million people.

Since then significant effort has been focused on generating
sales in Pakistan.

Management is confident that the first sale to the military is
imminent, and hospitals have also shown significant interest.

Applications for registration have now been filed in eight
countries over the past six months and at least another five applications
will be filed before June 30.

Registrations for Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman,
Qatar and Bahrain are expected to be approved in the first quarter of the
2006 financial year, opening a new market of 40 million people.

Trials of Penthrox by potential customers are in progress in nine
countries including India, Israel, Iran, Iraq and the UAE.

In addition MVP has applied to the World Health Organisation to
have Penthrox added to its list of essential medicines, and to The
International Red Cross for inclusion in its list of approved medicines.

Sales to research laboratories in the US have been on hold over
this period pending an FDA ruling.

MVP is claiming an exemption from registration under the US
guidelines and is confident of a positive outcome.

Sales of medical equipment for this half year were ahead of last
year but lower than expectations due to transitional issues on contracts
in Australia and New Zealand.

The company's new Australian distributor took longer than
expected to clear its old stock.

This stock has now been cleared and sales are expected to
improve.

The company says it will not pay a dividend on the ordinary
shares in respect of the December half because the cash has been
earmarked for additional international registrations.

BACKGROUND
**********

Medical Developments International Ltd was listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange on October 15, 2003.

Based in Melbourne, the company designs, manufactures and
distributes a wide range of equipment, products and devices in the
anaesthetics, oxygen delivery, veterinary and asthma management fields.

In addition, MVP manufactures a pre-hospital and emergency pain
relief product which is widely used in Australian ambulance services.

Medical Developments is quality certified to ISO 9001:2000, and
has commenced quality assurance certification for the more stringent new
standard ISO 13485.

This is a product by product group accreditation, and to date two
product groups have been certified to ISO 13485.

Several MVP products are also CE marked, enabling them to be sold
into the European community.

MPV has three business units: Pharmaceutical business; Medical
equipment business and Veterinary equipment business.

ENDS

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I don't hold MVP