Oxford Nanopore lifts revenue views for life sciences unit after contract win

(Reuters) -Oxford Nanopore Technologies forecast higher 2022 and 2023 revenue for its life sciences division on Tuesday, as the British biotech firm expects a sharp boost from a long-term multi-million-dollar contract in the Gulf.

The recently listed company, which specialises in DNA sequencing and provides rapid COVID-19 tests, expects revenue for the core unit to be 170 million pounds to 190 million pounds ($229 million to $256 million) for 2023.

This is much ahead of the previous estimate of 165 million pounds to 175 million pounds the company gave ahead of its London debut, sending its shares up 3% to 562.5 pence.

Oxford Nanopore debuted September-end, beating a trend of biotech firms opting to list in New York over London, valuing the company at almost 5 billion pounds. However, it has since slipped nearly 11% in value, as of Monday's close.

Oxford Nanopore also expects 2022 sales between 135 million pounds to 145 million pounds for the life sciences unit after the signing of a three-year contract worth $68 million with Abu Dhabi-based G42 Laboratory.

($1 = 0.7414 pounds)

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)