28 January
2025
Aptamer Group
plc
("Aptamer", the "Company" or the "Group")
Half Year Trading
Update
Revenue growth and
significant commercial and technical progress
Aptamer
Group plc (AIM: APTA), the developer of
novel Optimer® binders to enable innovation
in the life sciences industry, is pleased
to announce a trading update for the six months ending 31 December
2024 (H1 25).
Trading
update
The
Company has made significant advances in its key asset development
programmes which are targeted at longer-term and higher-value
revenue opportunities as well as its short term fee-for-service
work.
Unilever deodorant trials are
on track
In
partnership with Unilever, Aptamer continues to progress the
development of Optimers as a novel active ingredient in deodorants.
Trials of the binders with human skin samples were initiated on
schedule during Q4 2024. Results from the initial tests at Aptamer
showed the binders to be stable indicating suitability for use in
personal care products. These tests are being replicated by
Unilever and will move to on-person trials shortly.
Validation of Alzheimer's
biomarker in clinical samples
Optimer
binders to Neuro-Bio's innovative Alzheimer's disease biomarker
have demonstrated exceptional performance in biosensor assays on
clinical samples. Our assay was validated with patient samples and
revealed the highest 4-star level of statistically significant
distinction between Alzheimer's patients and healthy individuals
(p<0.00001 or 1:100,000 probability of occurring by chance).
Aptamer now has a robustly validated binder to this biomarker that
is driving the development of two point-of-care diagnostic
solutions in partnership with Neuro-Bio. This offers the potential
for both in-clinic and at-home testing applications. Commercial
terms are currently being negotiated on these highly valuable and
novel assets.
Advancing therapeutic
candidate delivery vehicles for the treatment of fibrotic liver
disease
Development of the fibrotic liver delivery vehicle has
demonstrated robust performance across multiple different siRNA
payloads, all with anticipated gene silencing effects. This shows
therapeutic potential for diverse treatment strategies in fibrotic
liver disease. The collaboration with AstraZeneca, to examine the
performance and versatility of this delivery vehicle has
demonstrated the in vitro
portion of the agreement, and both parties will now move towards
assessing the performance in animal models of liver
fibrosis.
Additionally, internal lab-based tests have demonstrated that
when a specific siRNA, designed to interfere with the fibrosis
pathway, is delivered using our technology, it can reverse markers
of liver fibrosis, suggesting that a potential candidate
therapeutic approach has been identified.
Fee-for-service
work
Commercial progression has been significant with the following
key highlights:
· Revenue - the
Group's unaudited revenue for the year's first half was £0.7
million, representing significant growth compared with £0.3 million
over the same period during the last financial
year.
· Order intake - the
Group has secured commercial contracts with a value of up to £0.7
million. Newly signed contracts over the first half of the
financial year include five fee-for-service development projects
with the top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Four of these secured
contracts represent repeat business, highlighting the Group's
ongoing relationship with its blue-chip customer base. The Group is
also progressing potentially lucrative licensing discussions with
multiple customers regarding developed assets for a range of
applications.
·
Order book - at 31 December
2024, the Group had approximately £0.5 million of contracted work
in preparation for processing through the laboratory, which the
Group expects to recognise as revenue in the second half of the
financial year.
· Sales pipeline - at
31 December 2024, the sales pipeline stands at £4.8 million,
including £3.4 million in advanced negotiations. The Group
anticipates converting a portion of this pipeline during the second
half of the financial year, further enhancing our revenue outlook
for the second half and into next year.
The Group continues to capitalise on
the increased interest in its services and has the security of a
significant cash runway. The commercial progression evident
for H1 25 is expected to develop further, and revenue from the
Company's fee-for-service work is expected to continue to extend
this cash runway until the Group ultimately becomes at least
self-sustaining from this part of its operations.
Dr
Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer of Aptamer Group,
commented: "In the first half of the
year, we have achieved significant commercial and technical
progress across the Group. Our strategic assets have successfully
advanced through key milestones such as moving into on-person
deodorant studies with Unilever and our technology is validated to
the highest level of statistical significance in clinical samples
with Neuro-Bio.
On the therapeutic front, we have
successfully demonstrated our fibrotic liver delivery vehicle with
multiple siRNA payloads, underscoring its broad therapeutic
potential. Additionally, our genetics medicine partner progressed
another Optimer delivery vehicle Aptamer has developed to the final
commercial stage following their successful internal validation.
This continued success is enhancing our portfolio of assets and
moving us incrementally closer to a value inflection point with
licensing opportunities starting to come to fruition.
From a commercial perspective,
revenue has improved substantially, and forward visibility is
supported by a robust pipeline of projects which are advancing in
our labs. Many of these are repeat business from major
pharmaceutical clients, reinforcing and further validating the
growing demand for our innovative technologies across the life
sciences industry."
- Ends -
For
further information, please contact:
Aptamer Group plc
Arron Tolley, Chief Executive
Officer
|
+44 (0) 1904 217
404
|
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited - Nominated
Adviser
Andrew Emmott / Jade
Bayat
|
+44 (0) 20 3368
3550
|
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited -
Broker
James Pope / Andrew
Thacker
|
+44 (0) 20 3657
0050
|
Northstar Communications Limited - Investor
Relations
Sarah Hollins
|
+44 (0) 113 730 3896
|
About Aptamer Group plc
Aptamer Group is a leading global
developer of aptamer-based ligands that help scientists remove the
limits to discovery and innovation. Leveraging several proprietary
discovery and development platform, Aptamer delivers custom
affinity ligands, supported with a complete suite of
characterisation and validatory assays that enhance the translation
of its binders and optimise scientific outcomes for
customers.
Aptamer's cutting-edge technology
spans healthcare, research, personal care, and industrial
processes, delivering new affinity solutions for novel targets,
advanced diagnostics, and precision therapies. By working with
industry leaders in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, personal health,
academic, and clinical research sectors, Aptamer is accelerating
science through the custom development of tools and
therapies.
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