Poor gene sequencer sales blamed for Nycomed downturn

NEWS Nycomed Amersham CEO, Bill Castell, blamed the poor sales of the company's MegaBACE gene sequencing system for a disappointing slide in half-year profits. The company made pre-tax profits of £91.3m while underlying profits fell 5.7 per cent to £111m; Nycomed shares fell 21.5p to 383p. Castell cited the launch of a rival product by US firm Perkin-Elmer as the main reason for its poor sales, although he remained confident of a second-half recovery.