Roquefort Therapeutics PLC (LSE:ROQ),a biotech company currently valued at less than £1.5 million, is set to be transformed into a clinical-stage oncology business after announcing the £32 million acquisition of an exclusive worldwide licence to a promising cancer drug alongside a £8.5 million fundraise.
The company is acquiring the rights to AO-252, an orally administered small molecule drug targeting TACC3, a protein that is over-expressed in many aggressive tumours, from Coiled Therapeutics, a spin-out of A2A Pharma Pharmaceuticals. AO-252 is notable for its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, making it potentially effective against both primary tumours and brain metastases.
The drug is already in a phase I clinical trial in the United States in patients with advanced solid tumours, with early results showing tumour reductions of up to 29% at relatively low dose levels and a benign safety profile. The trial has been expanded to focus particularly on ovarian and prostate cancer, with the first prostate cancer patient enrolled in November 2025.
The licence will cost £31.875 million, satisfied through the issue of new shares. The £8.5 million placing, priced at 10 pence per share following a share reorganisation, will fund development of AO-252 through 2026 and 2027, with material data readouts targeted by the fourth quarter of this year to support commercial and partnership discussions.
The deal comes with a complete overhaul of the board. Dr Sotirios Stergiopoulos, co-founder of Coiled Therapeutics, will become executive chairman, while Sridhar Vempati joins as chief executive officer. Both are investing £500,000 each in the fundraise, alongside a £50,000 commitment from existing director Stephen West.
On admission to AIM, the company will change its name to Coiled Therapeutics and trade under the ticker COIL, cancelling its current Main Market listing in the process.
The company pointed to Johnson & Johnson's $3.05 billion cash acquisition of Halda Therapeutics in November 2025, which acquired a phase I/II oral prostate cancer treatment, as evidence of significant pharmaceutical industry appetite for clinical-stage assets in the same therapeutic area.
The enlarged group will also assess Roquefort's existing STAT-6 programme for potential Phase I clinical trials, creating a two-asset pipeline. The precision oncology market addressed by comparable approved therapies is currently estimated at more than $20 billion.