They moved to the US because they failed in Australia.Unitract...

They moved to the US because they failed in Australia.

Unitract unfazed by share plunge
By Ian Porter
February 16, 2004

Emerging safety syringe manufacturer Unitract has dismissed concerns about a plunge in its share price, and claims it is close to starting production of what it says is the world's best syringe.

Answering a query from the Australian Stock Exchange, Unitract chairman David Riekie said directors knew of no information that would explain the plunge from $1.72 to $1.36 between February 10 and 12.

However, he noted the publication of an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on January 17 "which questioned the integrity of the development program of the Unitract syringe and the credibility of the company's chief executive Alan Shortall".

He again rejected any suggestions that Unitract was not on a fast-track commercialisation path.

Mr Riekie said the Unitract syringe was still receiving "strong interest and support from medical device multinationals".

He claimed it was still the only syringe that offered protection against the two main problems associated with syringes - sharing of needles by drug addicts and needle-stick injuries for medical professionals.

Mr Riekie said Unitract's production systems adviser, APS Plastics, at its plant in Melbourne, had now commissioned eight of the nine moulding machines destined for Unitract's Sydney plant.

"Once this testing process has been completed, the machinery will be transported to . . . Sydney," Mr Riekie said.

Directors were confident Unitract would start producing by April.

It would then use production samples to seek approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Authority and the US Food and Drug Administration.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/15/1076779836414.html