Aptamer Group PLC (AIM:APTA) shares rose 15% on Wednesday after the company announced a £360,000 contract with one of the world’s three largest pharmaceutical firms, expanding its Optimer technology into the fast-growing radiopharmaceutical market.
The deal, described as a “major” development contract, will see Aptamer engineer Optimer binders that can target an undisclosed cancer type. The initial work focuses on developing tools for PET imaging, with the potential to extend into cancer therapeutics.
Aptamer said the programme expands its technology into the $7.5 billion targeted radiopharmaceuticals market and adds a second therapeutic area alongside its existing work in gene therapy. The company retains rights to future licensing or royalty revenue if the project leads to a commercial product.
Alongside the new contract, the group reported a strong start to its financial year, securing an additional £665,000 in new agreements, including £315,000 of smaller deals and project extensions.
Together with contracts carried over from last year, this gives the York-based firm about £1.03 million in total contract value for the current period, with nine months of the year remaining.
Aptamer said its sales pipeline remains “robust” at £3.4 million in fee-for-service opportunities, suggesting further deal flow in the months ahead.
The shares rose 0.14p to 1.09p.