“Overall, we got off to a very positive start in 2023, delivering strong growth driven by high demand for our proprietary technology platforms GARD® and ORA®. The quarter was characterized by a high pace of business with both new and returning orders from leading global companies. We see very strong and increasing interest in GARD® following the OECD approval obtained last year. With this growing interest in the Group's offering, we have created a solid foundation for continuing strong growth, and combining this with effective cost controls will lead us to profitability," says Peter Nählstedt, President and CEO.

GARD® sales continue to perform well with a 33% growth rate. The Company’s customer base grew during the quarter with the addition of seven new customers while returning customers accounted for 80% of total sales. SenzaGen secured an SEK 1 million order from a new customer in the chemicals industry that sees substantial benefits from testing new product candidates with GARD® early on in the development process. Returning sales included a major customer-specific adaptation project with one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world and GARD®skin Dose-Response, which is a testament to the alignment of GARD® with large company needs.

A record-high number of customer meetings were held at the Society of Toxicology (SOT)’s conference in the US. The Group's other marketing activities also generated more leads than ever before.

VitroScreen delivered solid growth during the quarter. The majority of sales came from pre-clinical testing and customer-specific innovation services based on advanced 3D models such as its proprietary technology platform ORA®. The strongest growing customer segments were cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

In March, VitroScreen completed the certification process for ISO 9001:2015 (quality) and ISO 13485:2021 (medical devices). These certifications are a testament to the company's high quality and will attract new customers in the medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemicals and nutrition industries.

In addition, the SenzaGen Group’s consulting unit, ToxHub, performed above the Group's expectations, which is very positive. ToxHub accounted for approximately 10% of total Group sales. The integration process is proceeding effectively and according to plan to create strong sales synergies in areas including medical devices.

These sales figures have not been audited by an auditor, they should not be interpreted as meaning that profitability has been achieved, and they are subject to change at the time of the half-yearly financial statements. The Company chose to report these figures to provide shareholders with relevant information.