Shares in Shield Therapeutics PLC (AIM:STX, OTCQX:SHIEF) rose 7% in early trading following the approval of its drug, Accrufer (ferric maltol), by Health Canada for treating iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in adults.
This approval enables Shield's partner, Kye Pharmaceuticals, to launch the drug in Canada.
As part of the agreement, Shield will receive a £250,000 milestone payment, with additional revenue-based payments and double-digit royalties on net sales to follow. Shield will handle the manufacturing and supply of Accrufer for the Canadian market.
In a note following the Shield update, it pointed out the speciality pharma group is valued at just half of predicted 2025 sales of £70 million "despite having an approved drug on the market and selling".
The broker added: "We believe the current underlying combination in pricing and prescription growth is encouraging."
In early trading, the stock was up 0.29p at 4.1p.