Small cap bio-tech stocks were very much in the spotlight on Tuesday, with a number of well followed AIM names seeing key milestones.
Allergy Therapeutics (LON:AGY) has outlined plans to raise up to £12mln via a share placing at a modest discount to last night’s closing price. It said it will issue stock at 28p, using the proceeds to invest for new product development.
This, it said, will help it achieve a ‘step change in the size of its total addressable markets, strengthen its balance sheet and accelerate growth’.
A device that has the ability to pick up the early signs of cancer could become part of routine clinical testing for the disease, according to brokers.
Parsortix, developed by ANGLE (OTCMKTS:ANPCY, LON:AGL), has been successful in identifying circulating tumour cells found in the blood stream. It worked remarkably well in a head-to-head with the current gold standard device, a technology called CellSearch, which has been signed off by the Food & Drug Administration.
Summit Therapeutics (LON:SUMM) is edging closer to a huge 'inflection point', which could potentially transform its fortunes.
That's the view of chief executive Glyn Edwards, referring to data, which will follow the start of what he called a "crunch" phase 2 study for the firm's SMT C1100 drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) - the fatal muscle wasting disease mainly affecting boys.
VolitionRx (NYSE:VNRX) has been granted a second US patent for its test to detect cancer through changes in nucleosomes. The company produces tests based on the science of nucleosomics, which identifies and measures fragments of chromosomes, called nucleosomes, in the bloodstream that can indicate if cancer is present.
Its scientists have found that cancer-related proteins that latch onto chromosomes in living cancer cells can also be detected when bound to nucleosomes in the blood of cancer patients.
Elsewhere, Faron Pharmaceuticals (LON:FARN) got off to a premium debut on London’s AIM market.
The company, which is about to start a Phase III trial for a respiratory drug, joins the small cap market having raised £10mln to fund a European clinical trial. It issued the IPO shares at a price of 260p, which valued the whole company at just over £60mln.
In its first morning’s dealing on AIM Faron shares climbed as much as 13.5% to change hands at an intra-day high of 295p each.
In the tech sector, Camco Clean Energy (LON:CCE) is exiting US biogas in a deal that will net the company up to US$5.6mln. It is selling the assets to an American firm called Clean Power Holdings for US$18.9mln.
But once the debts of the business are settled Camco will see US$4.6mln in two tranches and may receive a further US$1mln depending on the performance of the biogas business going forward.
The sale allows the AIM-listed firm to concentrate on RedT energy storage system, which is gaining market traction – in fact the broker finnCap reckons 2016 will be a breakthrough year for the firm and its technology.
Mobile content firm Mobile Streams (LON:MOS) this morning told investors that its ad-funded games services are now live in the United States, Argentina, India and Nigeria. In a statement, ahead of today’s AGM, the company highlighted that its diversification strategy continues to see progress.
Galasys (LON:GLS) gave an update of sorts about its boardroom dispute, with the previously announced court hearing - which was due to take place today - now postponed for one week.
Repairs have started on Westminster Group's (LON:WSG) ferry vessel, the West Africa-focused managed services and security solutions provider revealed. As previously announced, the company had to wait for a slipway to become available so that repairs to the vessel could be made, but with the latest news the ferry project is once again moving forward.
There was deal making in the small cap mining sector, as first Ferrex (LON:FRX) is to buy into a group of gold deposits in Australia to provide cash for its Togo manganese development.
Elsewhere, Galileo Resources (LON:GLR) has provisionally agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Concordia copper project in South Africa. Galileo is to earn-in 51% of the project in the north Cape Province by spending 10mln rand, which is roughly £470,000.
Bezant Resources (LON:BZT), meanwhile, confirmed its cash holdings at the end of its latest financial year were £1.7mln, which brokers say is sufficient to fund a move into Colombia.
The company revealed yesterday it had taken out an option on alluvial platinum licences in the South American country, partly because efforts to move forward its Mankayan copper porphyry project in the Philippines had stalled.
Oil junior Antrim Energy (LON:AEY, CVE:AEY) estimates it will have just shy of US$10mln of cash after clearing the decks of its North Sea business. The company said today that following the decommissioning of the Fyne and Erne fields, in September, it has now received abandonment costs invoiced to its former joint venture partners.
With no debt and no more decommissioning costs the company says it is now in a strong financial position.
SDX Energy (CVE:SDX) has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Mark Reid as the company’s new chief financial officer. He replaces Olivier Serra who has notified the board of his decision to leave the company with immediate effect to pursue other interests.
Reid has a background in investment banking – he was head of oil and gas for BNP Paribas Fortis – and he was previously chief financial officer of AIM quoted oil juniors Chariot Oil & Gas and Aurelian Oil & Gas. The company has also strengthened its technical team, with the appointment of Cameron Snow as its new vice president of subsurface.