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:Proactive news summary: ANGLE, Amur, Alliance Pharma, ATTRAQT, CloudTag, Deltex, KEFI ...

Last updated: 14:49 09 Sep 2015 BST, First published: 16:49 09 Sep 2015 BST

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It has been a good day for some up-and-coming medtech firms.

Firstly, the University of Southern California has unveiled “highly encouraging results” using AIM-listed ANGLE’s (LON:AGL) Parsortix technology in liquid biopsies for breast cancer.

ANGLE reckons the technology could, after further research, have a role in helping doctors pick the most appropriate treatment for women with the disease.

ANGLE also thinks it could prove useful in identifying treatment targets for new breast cancer drugs.

Meanwhile, diagnostics specialist VolitionRx (NYSE:VRNX) revealed its NuQ colorectal cancer blood test achieved a high success rate in a trial held in Denmark.

Interim results from a 4,800-subject retrospective colorectal cancer trial at Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, and at six collaborating hospitals  in Denmark indicated that VolitionRx's NuQ blood tests detected 81% of colorectal cancers at 78% specificity equally well for both for early- and late-stage cancers.

In addition, the tests detected 63% of potentially pre-cancerous polyps including, most importantly, 67% of high-risk polyps, i.e. those most likely to become cancerous.

Deltex Medical (LON:DEMG) has added a twelfth US customer for its oesophageal Doppler monitoring system (ODM).

The unnamed hospital in the mid-west of the US has committed to taking at least 65 probes, used to test blood flow in real time, per month.

In other technology news, Proxama (LON:PROX) is teaming up with Stanchion Payment Solutions to widen its reach in the global payments market.

The two firms will work together on new products, which clients will help to design, the company said.

Stanchion, which operates in Europe North America, Africa and the Middle East, will also sell Proxama’s products.

StatPro (LON:SOG) obviously believes in the Japanese kaizen principle of continuous improvement, as it has released the 64th version of its Cloud-based platform.

The portfolio analytics provider has released the latest version of StatPro Revolution to its clients, marking the third regular update this year.

Fleet management firm Trakm8’s (LON:TRAK) sales are running “considerably higher” than last year, it told shareholders today.

Chairman John Watkins said orders were also 19% ahead of a year ago.

Software company ATTRAQT (LON:ATQT) reported a jump in sales and lower losses in its interim results following a number of new contract wins.

Sales rose 40% to £1.3mln from less than £1mln in the same period in 2014, with £1.2mln of this recurring revenue.

Losses before tax were trimmed to £350,000 from nearly £500,000 in 2014.

Personal fitness and health monitoring group CloudTag (LON:CTAG), has started independent external user testing on its first wearable product.

Essex University’s Sports and Exercise centre is carrying out the tests, which follow an internal programme to optimise the proprietary sensors and algorithms.

Elsewhere in the health sector, Horizon Discovery (LON:HZD) has agreed to license out certain cell lines it has developed to Abcam (LON:ABC), the research antibodies specialist, in a deal worth almost £2mln.

The agreement focuses on Horizon’s existing collections of human diploid cells (those with two complete sets of chromosomes) and haploid cells (those with an unusual number of chromosomes).

Horizon has also agreed to develop additional haploid cells “under a preferred pricing arrangement”.

In return it will receive £660,000 over the initial three-year term of the agreement and £1.275mln over years four to six if the collaboration is extended.

Alliance Pharma (LON:APH) expects sales momentum to build further after revenues rose by nearly 7% in the first half of 2015.

The prescription drug supplier benefited from a strong contribution from the recently acquired eye treatment Macushield, while one of its strongest products, bladder cancer cream ImmuCyst, will be back on sale again from the final quarter.

Sales in the half year to June were £22.8mln (2014: £21.4mln), while profits edged up to £5.5mln (£5.4mln).

In the mining sector, KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) revealed it is in negotiations with “several” potential buyers of a stake in its Tulu Kapi gold project, in Ethiopia, including the country’s government.

Negotiations on debt funding are also well advanced.

Amur Minerals (LON:AMC) expects to upgrade the resource at its Kun-Manie deposit in Far East Russia after further drilling confirmed it extended further than anticipated.

Last week, Amur said a step out hole 400 metres (m) from its main deposit at the Flangovy target indicated the nickel strike extended that far.

A subsequent in-fill hole 80m north east of that hole had now returned an average nickel grade of 0.7% and copper of 0.2%. 

While less than the step out hole (C306), the potential of the zone was not fully tested said Amur, which added it has also resumed in–fill drilling over a 250m long zone at the east end of Flangovy.

Analysis of two of four in-fill holes indicated an average mineralised thickness per hole of 34.1m containing 0.8% nickel and 0.2% copper.

That was a strong correlation with previous results and likely to see inferred resources converted to indicated, Amur said.

Condor Gold (LON:CNR) will continue surface exploration at La India in Nicaragua while it carries out a strategic review of its operations, it said today.

Drilling has been postponed until market conditions improve.

Cash of £2.4mln at the end of June was sufficient to execute the current strategy, it added.

Condor posted a loss of £1.45mln in the half year to June.

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