CZT Cozart

RNS Number:1610Z
Cozart PLC
28 June 2007



 Cozart Signs Significant Commercialisation Agreement with Philips Electronics

         Cozart to market Cozart-Philips drug testing product worldwide

                 Philips increases equity stake in Cozart to 9%


Abingdon, Oxfordshire UK, 28th June 2007: Cozart plc ("Cozart" or the 
"Company"), the medical diagnostics company, announces today that it has signed
a significant commercialisation agreement with the Healthcare Incubator of
Philips Electronics, to manufacture and market a new biosensor system to test
for drugs of abuse.

The agreement follows the successful completion of the collaboration between
Cozart and Philips under the terms of a joint development agreement which
commenced in January 2006.

This joint effort has resulted in the availability of the required technology.

Under the terms of the commercialisation agreement, Cozart and Philips will
jointly work towards the launch of the innovative new drugs of abuse testing
system by mid-2009. Philips will have primary responsibility for the manufacture
of the new product with Cozart responsible for sales and marketing.

The new product will have the potential to test for up to 8 drugs of abuse in
less than one minute and the flexibility to test for different combinations or
numbers of drugs as required by the market. The Cozart-Philips technology has
been shown to be extremely sensitive as required for the detection of drugs such
as cannabis in oral fluid as well as other drugs of abuse such as cocaine,
heroin, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine and amphetamine.   This system will
provide police forces, medical professionals and the workplace drug testing
industry with an unrivalled, efficient, accurate and lightweight handheld
device.  The commercialised product will be designed to be used at the roadside,
a rapidly developing market opportunity, where speed and ease of use are key
requirements.  These characteristics will also provide significant advantages to
Cozart's customers in other market segments such as workplace testing and in the
treatment of drug users.

Under a separate existing Subscription and Option Agreement, Koninklijke Philips
Electronics N.V. has exercised in full its option to acquire 4,971,466 ordinary
shares in Cozart at 38 pence per ordinary share (being the 20 day moving average
prior to the signing of the commercialisation agreement as specified in the
option agreement signed in January 2006), raising #1.9m for Cozart. Based on
Cozart's shares in issue as at 27th June 2007, Philips now has an 8.7% interest
in the enlarged issued share capital of the Company following the subscription.
The New Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued
share capital of the Company. Admission of the New Shares is expected to become
effective at 8.00 a.m. on 4th July 2007.

Dr Ad Leenaars, responsible for this Business Initiative within the Philips
Healthcare Incubator said: "Together, both companies have clearly succeeded in
proving the capability of the new magnetic biosensor technology. Furthermore, we
are well underway to realise a handheld drug testing product with unrivalled
performance, fitting the needs of the market."

Dr Chris Hand, Cozart Chief Executive, said:  "Cozart and Philips have made
significant progress, through the joint development agreement, towards realising
our objective of producing a drug testing system with similar speed and ease of
use to roadside breath alcohol devices.   The signing of the commercialisation
agreement with Philips validates and strengthens Cozart's leading-edge
technology position within the drugs of abuse market and provides a significant
commercial opportunity for Cozart.  Philips' decision to exercise its option and
invest a further #1.9m in Cozart sends a strong signal of Philips' commitment to
the project and its confidence in the commercial potential of the launched
product."


Enquiries:

Cozart plc:
Tel: 01235 861 483
Dr Chris Hand, Chief Executive
Chris Yates, Finance Director
www.cozartgroup.com

Financial Dynamics:
Tel: 020 7831 3113
Ben Atwell
Anna Keeble


Notes to Editors - Cozart plc

Cozart is a medical diagnostics company which develops, manufactures and sells
immunodiagnostic tests, predominantly those used for the detection of drugs of
abuse. Cozart's products include laboratory based testing kits for the detection
of drugs in a variety of biological samples and the Cozart(R) RapiScan and
Cozart(R) DDS systems, portable devices used for the on-site testing of drugs of
abuse in saliva (oral fluid) samples. In July 2004 Cozart floated on London's
AIM (trading symbol: CZT).   Cozart has wholly owned subsidiaries in Spain
(Spinreact SA based near Barcelona); Sweden (HL Scandinavia and Medib
Scandinavian), Italy (Cozart Italia) and the UK (Nemesis Scientific Limited).

Cozart supplies point of contact testing products, laboratory services and
forensic testing kits to the criminal justice (e.g. police forces, probation
services and prisons), medical (e.g. hospitals and drug dependency clinics) and
workplace markets (e.g. pre-employment, random and 'for cause' testing) both in
the UK and internationally


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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