Shares of Aptamer Group PLC (AIM:APTA) rose by 4% following the announcement that the company has extended its contract with consumer giant Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) to advance the development of its Optimer binders for use in deodorant products.
This extension, which follows successful lab-based tests, will allow the partnership to progress to efficacy testing later this year.
The binders target the C-S Lyase enzyme responsible for body odour, and initial laboratory tests have shown them to be effective.
Unilever, which holds a dominant 30% share in the $21 billion deodorant market, plans to conduct further testing with the potential for future developments based on the results.
In early trading, Aptamer shares were up 0.0095p at 0.24p.