OMEGA Diagnostics has hired Axis-Shield managing director Colin King to be its new chief operating officer.

Mr King has been with Dundee-based Axis-Shield since 1995 working in a number of areas including project management, operations, planning and supply chain.

The 46-year-old will start at AIM-listed Omega, which has its headquarters in Alva, Clackmannanshire, in early August.

Andrew Shepherd, Omega chief executive, said: "[Colin] brings a wealth of relevant industry experience and his depth of knowledge of the in-vitro diagnostics sector will further strengthen the Omega board."

In a research note analysts at Edison predict Omega is on course to report a rise in pre-tax profits from £1.1m to £1.4m for the 12 months to the end of March this year.

The analysts said they were encouraged by a recent update on Omega's long-awaited HIV monitoring product, which is called Visitect.

However Edison is assuming the test, which can give information on when someone needs to get retroviral drug treatment more quickly than current solutions, will not be ready for commercial sale in the current financial year.

Edison said that if Visitect and a separate array of allergen products are ready for the 2017 financial year "Omega should enter a sustained growth phase". It predicted uptake of Visitect could "be very rapid".