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Proactive news headlines: Sareum, Location Sciences, Alien Metals, Remote Monitored System …

Last updated: 15:33 14 Dec 2020 GMT, First published: 15:30 14 Dec 2020 GMT

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Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR) has noted that a multi-centre analysis of DNA samples from patients with severe forms of coronavirus (COVID-19), including symptoms caused by the over-active inflammatory response (cytokine storm), has identified TYK2 as a key causative genetic mechanism and a potential target for therapy. The specialist drug development company which is delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases said the observation, which was published online as an Accelerated Article Preview by 'Nature' on December 11, 2020, is consistent with the scientific rationale supporting Sareum's recent successful UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) grant application for its proprietary TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor, SDC-1801.

Location Sciences Group PLC (LON:LSAI) said it has received a letter before action alleging false statements and potential reputational harm and financial loss from partner Blis Global. Blis, formerly known as Blis Media, has used Location Sciences' data verification platform Verify since September 2019. Location Sciences noted that it has taken legal advice in relation to the letter and believes the claims made by Blis are baseless and that it will take all necessary action to protect the interests of the company.

Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) said a programme of works has been approved by the authorities for initial trenching and drilling at the Elizabeth Hills mining licence. The Western Australia Mines Department has given the okay for a programme of works that covers up to 1.25 kilometres to test for new or repeat silver orebody due south of the existing deposit, and 4,000 metres (m) of drilling to target the historical resource area and to test for potential strike extensions. Field exploration will commence in mid-December and will run for several months. At the same time, Alien will carry out grid sampling of the historical mine tailings dam with the view of acquiring this from a third party.

Remote Monitored System PLC (LON:RMS) noted that it has received an update from its subsidiary, Pharm 2 Farm (P2F), saying a production line manufactured by Lemu Group has passed factory acceptance testing. The AIM-listed firm said a detailed written report is awaited and it will provide updates, including any change to the machine delivery date if any material change arises.

Open Orphan PLC (LON:ORPH) said COVI-VAC, an intranasal vaccine candidate for coronavirus (COVID-19), has been approved for human trials by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The pharmaceutical firm said hVIVO, part of the Open Orphan group, is working with US biotech group Codagenix Inc to conduct the phase one study, which will evaluate safety and immunogenicity of a single dose of the vaccine candidate in 48 healthy young adult volunteers at hVIVO's state-of-the-art quarantine facility in Whitechapel, East London.

Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) told investors that it has successfully completed the second drill hole at its Molopo Farms Complex project in Botswana. Hole KKME 1-6 was drilled down to depth of 547 metres (m). The company noted that ultramafic rocks were intersected immediately beneath the Kalahari Group sediments at 27m and continue to the end of hole. The hole had a total ultramafic intercept of approximately 520m, it added. Two shear zones were intercepted, at 501m and 515m respectively.  Core from the hole will undergo detailed geological logging with selected samples sent to nickel and PGM assays.

Arecor Limited, the privately-owned biotech group, has dosed its first patient in a Phase I clinical trial for its second clinical-stage product, an ultra-concentrated rapid-acting insulin. The product, AT278 is a new formulation of concentrated insulin (500U/mL) that acts rapidly and is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream from the site of injection.

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund PLC (LON:GSF) said it has had to scale back allocations of shares in its £60mln placing, offer for subscription and intermediaries offer after heavy demand. Applications for shares significantly exceeded £60mln, said the industrial battery investor, which has earmarked the money for new projects and capex for existing investments. Gore Street Capital, the company's investment manager, said it had already has identified sites with a storage capacity of 1.3Gw.

Vietnam Holding Ltd (LON:VNH) has reported a rise in its net asset value (NAV) in November as the closed-ended fund hailed “exceptional export growth” and a “significant come back” in retail sales in Vietnam. For the period to November 30, 2020, the fund reported a NAV of 221.6p per share, a month-on-month increase of 11.1% and a 6.7% rise in the year-to-date. The firm’s monthly rise in value also beat out the Vietnam All Share Index (VNAS), which rose by 8.5%.

Sativa Wellness Group Inc (LON:SWEL) has highlighted what it said is “regulatory progress” for cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) in the European Union, the United States and at the United Nations. In the EU, the Aquis-listed cannabis wellness firm said the European Commission (EC), the bloc’s executive branch, has concluded that CBD is not considered to be a drug within the meaning of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, following the recent ruling from the EU's highest court.  As a consequence, the EC has confirmed that CBD qualifies as a food, and is therefore subject to EU law on the free movement of goods among member states.

Oncimmune Holdings PLC (LON:ONC) said it has signed commercial terms to supply its EarlyCDT Lung blood test to the NHS Norfolk & Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group. It has also inked a contract to provide the product to NHS Lung Health Check initiatives in Wessex and Yorkshire as part of the iDx-LUNG evaluation programme. And, following in-depth due diligence, the company has also been told the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has selected the EarlyCDT for Diagnostics Assessment Guidance.

Applied Graphene Materials PLC (LON:AGM), the producer of speciality graphene additives, has signed a distribution agreement with ManHo Polymers. ManHo Polymers is a leading chemicals distributor in South Korea. The agreement extends Applied Graphene’s commercial focus directly into the coatings and polymers sectors across the fourth-largest coatings market in the Asia region. The UK company and ManHo Polymers have an exclusive agreement that will see the two companies collaborate on customer opportunities and introduce Applied Graphene's (AGM’s) proprietary Genable graphene dispersions technology into the South Korean coatings and broader liquid resins markets.

Ergomed PLC (LON:ERGO) said it has acquired MedSource, a US-based specialist oncology and rare disease contract research specialist, in a deal worth up to US$25mln. The transaction, which sees the UK group expand its presence in the strategically important US market, will be immediately earnings enhancing. Practically, it adds 20 new clients and a US$41mln order book. MedSource’s revenues last year were US$19.3mln, while its underlying earnings (EBITDA) were US$1.3mln.

Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR), a Madagascar-focused graphite producer, has made its debut on the LSE’s Main Market after raising £6mln at 45p per share. The shares traded at 53.5p in early dealings, valuing the group at around £40mln. Tirupati also confirmed it has been awarded the LSE's Green Economy Mark, which recognises companies that derive 50% or more of their total annual revenues from products and services that contribute to the global green economy.

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (LON:CHAR) has landed new acreage offshore Morocco, in the vicinity of its Anchois gas project. The company told investors it has successfully negotiated terms for the area referred to as Rissana Offshore, and the formal award of a licence is expected in 2021. It will own a 75% interest and will be the operator of the project, alongside state-firm ONHYM (Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines) which will retain the other 25% of the project.

Panther Metals PLC (LON:PALM) told investors it has completed a high-resolution airborne electromagnetic and magnetic geophysics survey of the Dotted Lake property in Ontario, Canada. The helicopter survey covered some 1,033 line kilometres and was shot from an average of 86 metres above ground. It is expected that the processed survey data will be available in the new year. The company, meanwhile, added that it is actively preparing for a drill programme to test priority targets.

Jersey Oil and Gas PLC (LON:JOG) has highlighted the findings of a new sub-surface evaluation which has uncovered a new prospect. The prospect, named Wengen, located in Licence P2170, is position directly west of the Tweedsmuir field and has been estimated to host some 62mln barrels of potential resources (P50), with the probabilistic range set at 31mln barrels at P90 (higher confidence) and 162mln for P10 (lower confidence). Probability of geological success is seen as 22% for the prospect.

Metal Tiger PLC (LON:MTR) said it has subscribed for 952,354 shares in Geopacific Resources Limited (ASX:GPR) at a price of A$0.42 per share for a total investment of A$399,988 as part of the Australian firm’s A$140mln two tranche placement. The AIM-listed natural resources investor said it subscribed for 122,185 shares in tranche one and 830,196 shares in tranche two of the fundraise, following which it will hold a 0.19% stake in Geopacific. Geopacific is a gold-copper development firm focused on the 1.6mln ounce Woodlark gold project in Papua New Guinea.

Mosman Oil and Gas Ltd (LON:MSMN) has announced the start of commercial production from the Falcon-1 well at the Champion project, in east Texas. Production began on Friday, December 11. The company said that production rates will be reported in due course, once stable oil and gas rates are established.

Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC (LON:BPC) has arranged up to US$20mln of additional funding to support its plans in Trinidad and Suriname, along with the upcoming Perseverance-1 well in The Bahamas. Through an agreement with a European alternative asset manager, it will immediately receive £7.5mln (US$10mln) through the issue of 375,000 new shares priced at 2p each. An option agreement allows it to access up to US$10mln (£7.5mln) within 10 days after the spud of Perseverance-1. Simon Potter, Bahamas Petroleum chief executive pointed out that the arrangement is consistent with the company’s overall funding strategy and provides the flexibility to continue to pursue an aggressive growth agenda at a pace determined by the company.

Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) has advised shareholders that a market related four-year Collective Agreement on Substantive Terms and Conditions of Employment has been concluded with the main unions represented at the Tharisa Mine, namely the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity. The agreement is effective from July 1, 2020, until June 30, 2024, and applies to employees who are subject to the bargaining units at the Tharisa Mine. Wage negotiations were mutually postponed earlier in the year during the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequently concluded. The company said the agreement underpins the ongoing stability of Tharisa's labour relations and allows the mine to focus on growing the business for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) is accelerating plans to complete further resource drilling at its Kiziltepe mine in Turkey. A new drilling campaign of roughly 5,000 metres is scheduled to start in early 2020 to continue testing vein extensions at Arzu South, Arzu North, Banu and Derya. The company also told investors it has now published the circular regarding its proposed joint venture (JV) with Özaltin Holding A.Ş and with Proccea Construction. A general meeting to approve the transaction has been convened for December 30, 2020.

Panthera Resources PLC (LON:PAT), the diversified gold exploration and development company with assets in West Africa and India, said it has secured commitments of a further £118,766 for the early exercise of unlisted warrants in exchange for ordinary shares in the capital of the company, with an additional 1,777,935 warrants to be exercised early at an exercise price of 6.68p each on or before January 15, 2021. It noted that 1,438,289 shares have been issued to date under warrant conversions, with a further 360,055 warrants to be exercised shortly, and total early warrant conversion commitments now comprise 3,576,279 warrants for £238,895. The group said the proceeds will accelerate its planned work programmes in West Africa.

Scancell Holdings PLC (LON:SCLP), the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease, said that Vulpes Life Sciences Fund, which is closely associated with non-executive director, Martin Diggle, has purchased 248,823 ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the company at a price of 10.5p each. Following the purchase, it added, Vulpes has a total interest of 117,479,029 Scancell shares representing 14.4% of the total voting rights of the company.

Oracle Power PLC (LON:ORCP) has welcomed comments made by Pakistan’s prime minister the Honourable Mr Imran Kahn at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020 on Saturday 12 December 2020.  Mr Khan outlined the Pakistan Government's strong support for developing its coal reserves for coal to liquids and coal to gas projects and promoting these technologies over conventional coal to power projects.  These clean coal processes, which form an integral component of Oracle's development initiative at its Thar Block VI Project in the Sindh Province of Pakistan, will produce urea for use in fertiliser and liquid fuel to be used domestically thereby reducing Pakistan's reliance on imported fuel sources, the company said in a statement.

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY) announced that Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey will join the board as a non-executive director with effect from January 1, 2021. Baroness Young will also become a member of the board’s Nomination Committee.

Adamas Finance Asia Limited (LON:ADAM), the London quoted company focused on providing shareholders with attractive uncorrelated, risk-adjusted returns from a diversified portfolio of pan-Asian investments, has announced the appointment of PKF Littlejohn as its new auditor with immediate effect. PKF Littlejohn will replace Crowe who has formally resigned after 10 years of service. John Croft, chairman of Adamas Finance Asia Limited commented:  "We are pleased to welcome PKF as our new auditor. We would also like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation and gratitude to Crowe for its services rendered to the  Company throughout its many years of service."

KR1 PLC (AQSE:KR1), a leading digital asset investment company, announced that it has from Monday been admitted to the Apex Segment of the AQSE Growth Market which is intended market for larger, more established businesses and companies. George McDonaugh, managing director and co-founder of KR1, commented: “We are delighted to be one of the first members of the Apex segment and look forward to working with Aquis Stock Exchange to increase support for the market from both retail and institutional investors”.

Incanthera PLC (AQSE:INC), the specialist oncology company focused on transforming cancer treatment, announced that having met the qualifying criteria for the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange, the company is now designated as listed on the Apex market. Commenting on the changes, Tim McCarthy, Incanthera chairman, said: "We are delighted to have been designated into the new Apex market of Aquis Stock Exchange. Aquis has been an important part of the company's development from the point of flotation in February this year. The support we have received from Aquis as one of the growth businesses on the Exchange has been extremely important to us and we applaud the team for these further initiatives to support the stocks listed on the Exchange. We expect that this will bring many benefits to Incanthera's existing shareholders, whilst also attracting new investors to the Aquis market."

CMC Markets PLC (LON:CMCX) said a white paper commissioned by the trading platform operator has underlined a “distinct polarisation of attitudes” regarding the role played by non-bank liquidity providers (NBLPs). The company, itself a non-bank provider of liquidity and white label trading solutions, said it has been developing its role as a NBLP in recent years, although it added that polling of sell-side brokerages revealed “widely differing understandings of what the new wave of market participants had brought to the table in recent years, suggesting there’s still the potential for many to make significant efficiency (and commercial) gains”.

finnCap Group PLC (LON:FACP)  has partnered with sustainability fintech World Wide Generation (WWG) to launch a new app for small businesses that maps performance against the broker’s ESG scorecard. The tracker is an app on a global multi-stakeholder platform called G17Eco, said the AIM-listed broker, which allows companies to monitor and measure their sustainability risks and opportunities.

Galileo Resources PLC (LON:GLR) confirmed that it has issued a total of 1,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares in the company at a price of 0.6p per share under the exercise of warrants in terms of the placing agreement dated October 17, 2019

Westmount Energy Limited (LON: WTE), the energy investment company, announced that, at its annual general meeting held on Friday, all resolutions were duly passed.

Honye Financial Services Ltd (LON:HOYE), a special purpose acquisition company formed to undertake one or more acquisitions of businesses in the financial services and financial technology sector, has given notice that its annual general meeting will be held at Locke Lord, 201 Bishopsgate, Spitalfields, London EC1M 3AB on January 11, 2021, at 10.00am London Time. In order to comply with UK government advice in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19) advice, the meeting will be held by way of conference call. Any member wishing to participate in the meeting should therefore do so by joining the conference call should contact the company's director Yu Xing (Terry) Liu via email at lyxterry@126.com as soon as possible, and in any event by close of business on January 6, 2021.

Benchmark Holdings PLC (LON:BMK), the aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics business, has announced that its annual general meeting will be held on February 9. 2021, at 12.00pm at the offices of Travers Smith LLP, 10 Snow Hill, London, EC1A 2AL. In light of the UK Government's public health guidelines on coronavirus (COVID-19), and in the interests of the safety and wellbeing of our shareholders, the board has taken the decision to hold the AGM as a closed meeting this year, with shareholders not permitted to attend in person. The board remains keen to maintain engagement with shareholders and, therefore, shareholders may submit questions on the business of the AGM by email to AGM@bmkholdings.com, so as to arrive by 12.00pm on February 7, 2021.

Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focused on West Africa, has invited investors to join the company's virtual investor event - 'Cameroon: Preparing for Maiden Drilling at the Bibemi Gold Project' - where Tim Livesey, its chief executive officer) will give a live presentation followed by a Q&A session The virtual investor event will take place at 4.00pm BST / 11.00am EST on Thursday December 17, 2020. and can be accessed by registering at the following link: https://my.6ix.com/6mVBi28h

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