Dolly firm records £14m loss

Dolly the sheep was the first cloned mammal

The company behind Dolly the sheep and five cloned piglets has announced annual losses of more than £14m.

The figure is similar to the losses reported last year by PPL Therapeutics.

The group, which revealed last month the world's first pig clones - Millie, Christa, Alexis, Carrel and Dotcom - is working towards producing pig-to-man transplants and solving the worldwide shortage of human organs.

Following the announcement about the cloned piglets, there was a change in the outlook from the public. It has become less of a taboo

Dr Ron James, PPL

Edinburgh-based PPL said the potential market for its products was estimated at around £3.8bn ($6bn) a year.

But research and development costs of £13.5m saw pre-tax losses during 1999 stand virtually unchanged at £14.4m.

Turnover was marginally up at £490,000, against £478,000 over the previous 12 months.

'Positive trials'

The company said the year had been a "challenging" one in which much of the groundwork was now paying off.

It had gained three sets of positive clinical trial results and had secured funding for a production plant in Scotland.

The group had also spent £500,000 restructuring the business in November, which involved a cut in staff to 160.

The piglets were born last month

Dr Ron James, managing director said: "This has been another year of continued development for the company.

"There have been a number of positive trial results and with the restructuring now complete and the funding for the production plant in place, PPL is well placed to capitalise on these successes."

The five piglets, born on 5 March, were created from adult cells using "nuclear transfer" technology similar to that which led to the birth of Dolly.

"We are looking at ways of getting extra funding into the project," Dr James said.

Venture capital

The group is talking to venture capital companies about further financing for the pig-to-human transplant research.

This would involve spinning out the division as a separate company, although PPL would be majority owner in the new group. Another option would be to secure a corporate partner.

Dr James added he thought clinical trials for the transplants could be just four years away and the operation could be profitable in about eight years.

Dr Ron James: "Challenging year"

Public perception of pig-to-human transplants was also changing and he predicted that by the time the first operation had taken place, it would be greeted with "general joy".

He said: "Following the announcement about the cloned piglets, there was a change in the outlook from the public. It has become less of a taboo."

Pigs have become the central focus of attempts to produce organs for xenotransplatation.

Primates would be a closer match but ethical concerns and the fact that they produce only single offspring have meant this approach has not been developed.

The large litters of pigs and the similarity in size of their organs have led to their being the most likely supplier of any future transplant organs.